Three persons were injured late on Thursday night in a low-intensity explosion near Devapur-Khoripakar Ghat in East Champaran district.

Eyewitnesses said the three had come to the ghat, around 35km northeast of Motihari, to collect water before offering prayers at the Shiva temple in Areraj. They were on their way to Areraj, around 60km away, when two motorbike-borne youths threw the five low-intensity bombs 25m from the ghat.

The incident occurred around 11 in the night, injuring the trio aged between 20 and 22 years. They are out of danger now. The trio have been identified as Devapur residents Sarita Devi and Vindeshwar Jha and Sunil Kumar from Areraj.

At the confluence of the Bagmati and Budhi Gandak rivers in East Champaran district, several devotees visit the ghat round the year before proceeding to Areraj.

“The victims injured in the late-night attack were given first aid by a local team of doctors and later shifted to other hospitals in Motihari. They are now out of danger. The explosion was just a means of the criminals to terrorise the devotees here,” said Sikrahna sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) J.N. Choudhary.

Bihar State Commission for Protection of Child Rights member Aparna Singh also visited the injured.

Choudhary added that the involvement of some rival political groups in the incident could not be ruled out. Active in the area, the groups want to establish their dominance to garner support of the devotees, he said. East Champaran superintendent of police Sudhir Kumar Singh also attributed the attack to political rivalry among leaders in the Dhaka Assembly segment.