Shimla: Tragic death of three children in Kolah village of Kangra because of abandoned explosives from a firing range with which they were innocently playing exploding on their bodies on Tuesday resonated in the Vidhan Sabha today.
In response to a call attention motion, chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said that there was a need to redefine the firing range as innocent victims living in the vicinity of the range were falling target due to unexploded mortar in the range.
Ruling out any foul play in the accident, the chief minister said that during investigation it was observed that two brothers Rahaul (13) and Shail along with third child identified as Chandan (13) had gone to the Brahmanu Galu jungle where they had collected the unexploded shells of 51 mm mortar. The jungle is about 1 Km away from Kachhayari firing range that is used by defense forces for practice. While attempting to extract the metal out of those shells, three of them exploded and the boys died on the spot.
Investigation is in progress and efforts were being made to trace the origin of the shells and the force and unit to which they had been issued to fix responsibility, said Dhumal. Army authorities at Yol camp in Kangra have been informed about the incident They taken note of details of the three unexploded shells that were found near the dead children bodies, he added.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
