Ragpicker killed in Hyderabad after bag explodes

A man was killed in Hyderabad when a bag he tried to open exploded. The explosion on a footpath under PVNR Expressway triggered panic while police cordoned off the area.

Hyderabad: A ragpicker was killed when a bag he tried to open exploded on a street here on Sunday, police said.

The man identified as Ali (35) sustained critical injuries in the blast that occurred in Rajendranagar. He later succumbed at the government-run Osmania Hospital.

The explosion on a footpath under PVNR Expressway triggered panic while police cordoned off the area.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar visited the blast scene. He told reporters that it was suspected to be chemical explosion.

"We are probing it from all angles. We are trying to find out details like where the man found the bag," he said.

A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) has collected samples from the scene of the explosion for analysis.

Officials of anti-terror unit Organisation for Counter-Terrorist Operations (Octopus) also visited the area.

Bomb and dog squads too rushed to the scene.

A police officer said they were scanning the footage from CCTVs in the area to ascertain as to where the ragpicker found the bag.