GUWAHATI, Oct 14 (IANS): At least two people were injured in an explosion in Assam Friday as officials said a major tragedy was averted.
The blast took place around 8.30 a.m. at the courtyard of a village house at Harmoti in Lakhimpur district, about 320 km east of Assam's main city of Guwahati, a police spokesperson said.
"It appears to be an improvised explosive device (IED) and was powerful. Since there were not much people around the blast site, the casualty was less," the official said.
The injured were shifted to local hospitals.
Preliminary investigations revealed the IED was found by a rag picker. He unknowingly brought the explosive home and kept it outside his house.
"Probably it was a time device and the timing of the blast suggests that the explosive was possibly meant to target a busy weekly market from where the boy (rag picker) found it," the official said.
"Definitely some militant group must have planted the IED with an eye on the weekly market at Harmoti."
Police investigations are on. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the explosion.
