Nepalgunj, September 28:

Nine-year-old Radhesyham of Kalika-4 Janta Nagar had no ink-ling he would lose his fingers while playing. He was playing with his elder sister and cousins on Tuesday when a stray bomb exploded and severed all fingers of his left hand. He also sustained injuries in his right leg.

Radheshyam was playing along the road when he saw an object lying on the grass. It exploded when he picked it up. Radheshyam, who is undergoing treatment in the Bheri zonal hospital told The Himalayan Times today, “I mistook the bomb for a toy. It exploded when I picked it up.” The blast also injured his 12-year-old sister Rupa Kumari. She sustained a splinter injury in her leg, said her mother Agini Tharu. Rupa has, however, not been admitted to the hospital.

Agini, who has seven sons and two daughters, asked the Maoists not to leave stray bombs around. “It is no longer safe for children,” she said. Programme officer of the CWIN helpline, Madhav Lohani, said such incidents have become more common nowadays than during the conflict.