Two Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) students were injured after they accidentally touched the locally made explosive during the cleanliness drive at Nagamangala taluk on Sunday morning, February 23.

The police said Arihant Patil and Partha, both SSLC students from a school run by Jain Mutt in Madihalli village, were seriously injured in the incident, stated a report by The New Indian Express.

The students were part of the Shramadana, a cleanliness drive which the school conducts every Sunday morning at around 7.30 am at the foothills of Anjaneya Betta near Kambadahalli village in the taluk.

The students were busy lifting the garbage littered by devotees and tourists when they accidently touched the locally made explosive wrapped in a cover kept inside the garbage.

As the explosive exploded, Arihant Patil received severe injuries in his right hand while Partha suffered injuries in his face. They were immediately rushed to Adichunchanagiri Hospital in BG Nagar.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Mallikharjuna Baladandi and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Chaluvaraju, along with the bomb disposal squad and dog squad, visited the spot. It is suspected that the explosive was kept to hunt wild boars, according to a report by The New Indian Express.

Bindiganavile police have registered a case and are searching for miscreants who kept the explosives at the place.