A policeman inspects the site of explosion in Berhampur. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy

Berhampur, Nov. 2: A 17-year-old girl was injured when an explosive device in a gift box went off this morning at Haladiapadar on the outskirts of the city.

The incident occurred when Jayanti Behera, a Plus Two first-year commerce student, was tying an amulet received as a gift from an anonymous sender on her arm. When Jayanti pulled a metal chain attached to the amulet, it blew off. She suffered injuries on her face and neck, right hand and both legs, and was rushed to a hospital.

The gift, which was addressed to Jayanti and her elder brother Kalia, 20, had been left hanging on the front door of their house at Pandara Sahi.

“The bomb was concealed in a small plastic box wrapped in a polythene bag. There was gunpowder in the amulet, which was connected to dry cell battery. If you pull the metal chain of the amulet, the gunpowder ignites and the detonator catches fire,” said Berhampur Sadar sub-divisional police officer Sarat Mohapatra.

“It was a low-intensity bomb. There was little space inside the amulet since only a limited quantity of gunpowder was stored inside,” Mohapatra said. He suspects it to be the outcome of a love affair gone wrong.

Kalia lodged an FIR at Golanthara police station here and said Jayanti had received several phone calls and text messages from an unidentified man on Thursday night.