Modasa: Man strapped with explosives blows himself up with wife

A man and his wife died in a blast after he detonated some explosives, which he had strapped around himself at a village in Arvalli district of Gujarat, police said on Friday.

The incident took place at B T Chhapra village of Meghraj taluka, around 30 km from Modasa, on Thursday night, an official said.

Lala Pagi (47) wrapped some gelatine sticks, a detonator switch and connecting wires around his body and reached his in-laws' house, where he hugged his wife Shardaben (43) and pressed the detonator switch, triggering the explosion, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Bharat Basia said.

Preliminary probe has revealed that Pagi was angry with his wife, who had left him and was living with her parents, following a dispute a month ago, the official said.

"Pagi, a construction labourer, was a native of Muloj village of Modasa taluka and was married to Shardaben for the last 20 years. Since he used to beat his wife frequently, she was living at her parent's place in BT Chhapra village since last one month," he said.

Gelatine sticks are cheap explosive materials used for carrying out low-intensity blasts to dig wells in rural areas and in the mining sector.

"As soon as Shardaben came out of her house, Pagi hugged her and pressed the detonator switch, which triggered the explosion. Both died on the spot. We have lodged a case of murder against Pagi. We are probing the source of the explosives," the official said.