Himachal Pradesh: Army shell lands on a house, no one hurt

Panic gripped Amarpur locality in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district on Diwali night when an Army shell landed on the rooftop of a house.

The shell landed on the rooftop of the residence of one Durgesh Sharma at around 7 pm, police said.

"We got information at around 7.30 pm that an explosive had fallen on the rooftop of a house in Amarpur," Sirmaur Deputy Superintendent of Police (headquarter) Babita Rana said.

The shell first fell on the rooftop and damaged the roof. Then it fell near a man in the street, she added.

"The shell is from 84 mm rocket launcher bearing Gustaf mark and weighs about two kilograms. It fell in a thickly populated area. Luckily it did not explode. Had it exploded, it would have wreaked havoc in area up to at least 5 kilometers," Rana said.

An Army firing range is near the locality where the shell was found.

"Prima facie, it seems that the shell fell from an aerial distance of 1,600 meters due to negligence of Army personnel," the DSP said.

She said a letter had been sent to the Army authorities.

"Usually the Army fires such explosives towards the western side (of the range) during practice. Apparently it fell towards the thickly populated area on the eastern side due to negligence," she added.

A case has been registered against unknown persons under Section 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code, Rana said.

The shell will be handed over to the Army on Friday, she said, adding that Army personnel will be included in further investigation of the matter.