At least four people were injured in a blast in a private bus in Haryana’s Fatehabad district on Tuesday, police said.
The injured were taken to the government hospital in Fatehabad.
The bus was travelling from Jakhal Mandi in the district to Fatehabad town; the blast occurred at a place called Bhuna, the police said.
“The explosion in the bus occurred at about 10.42am on Bhuna-Fatehabad road. In the incident, Bhagirath (about 45) and his wife Rajbala (40), have received burnt injuries, who have been shifted to a hospital and are now out of danger,” inspector general of police (Hisar range) OP Singh said.
“We have found a black bag and a preliminary examination by authorities has revealed the use of a sulphur-like substance, which is commonly used in crackers,” he said.
The IGP added that senior police officers along with bomb disposal squad and crime scene team have reached the spot and started an investigation into the matter.
Asked if the explosion bears any similarity to the earlier incident, Fatehabad superintendent of police OP Narwal said, “At this stage, we cannot comment on that. Investigations are on.”
He said according to preliminary reports it appears that someone was carrying a chemical powder which caught fire either because of smoking or some other reason.
“It could be possible that some farmer was carrying the chemical powder, which is used in agricultural fields to scare away birds by causing an explosion,” Narwal said.
The SP said no passenger has come forward to claim the chemical substance yet.
