AMBIKAPUR: A two-year-old boy died after a firecracker exploded inside his mouth while he was playing with other children in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, police said on Friday.
The incident took place on the morning of November 9 in Navapara village under Sitapur police station limits. The child, identified as Aditya Manjhi, was playing with other children who were bursting garlic-shaped 'lehsun' pop-pop crackers when he picked up a small packet lying on the ground and put it in his mouth.
His father, Indrajit Manjhi, told PTI that the family learnt about the incident from the other children. He said they did not know which firecracker the boy had picked up.
The family initially took him to the Community Health Centre in Sitapur on November 9. He was brought home after the bleeding stopped but was taken back to the health centre the next day when the bleeding resumed.
He was later shifted to a hospital in Ambikapur on November 11, where he died that night.
His father told PTI that doctors who conducted the post-mortem examination found traces of firecracker material inside the child's throat.
Police said an accidental death report had been registered and further investigation was underway.
(With inputs from media reports)