Bhopal, Oct 23
What should have been a night of lights and joy turned into a nightmare for families across Bhopal and surrounding districts this Diwali, as makeshift "carbide guns" – marketed as cheap festive toys – caused severe injuries to more than 125 people, including children and the elderly.
According to doctors, the number may be higher, around 200.
The devices, priced around Rs 200 and made from plastic pipes, gas lighters, and calcium carbide, explode violently upon ignition, hurling shrapnel-like fragments into eyes, faces, and bodies.
Despite Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's October 18 directive to district authorities to ban the sales of carbide guns, the devices were rampant in markets, fuelled by social media trends glamourising them as Diwali stunts.