Patna, Oct. 20: Three students today suffered injuries when four crude bombs they were playing with exploded in Kasba area of Patna City. One of them is in a critical condition.

Sources said the children, students of Government Middle School under Mahediganj police station, came out of the institution around 1pm. They spotted some ball-shaped things wrapped in polythene in a garbage dump few feet away from the school. As the kids unknowingly started playing with the crude bombs, they exploded.

An officer of Mahediganj police station said: “One of the children, identified as Class V student Lallan, is seriously injured. He has been admitted to the intensive care unit of Nalanda Medical College and Hospital. The others are also undergoing treatment.”

The officer said the school authorities were being questioned about the incident. The school authorities claimed that the three injured children were not students of their institution.

“The principal of the school claimed that the three boys do not study in the school and the incident occurred around 12noon when the institution’s main gate was locked. The parents of the two injured children claimed just the opposite. The claims are being checked at the moment and the truth will come out. We are trying to find out who kept the bombs in the garbage dump,” the officer said.

The police said some criminals of the area may have thrown the bombs in the garbage.