Youth held for bursting fire cracker near Taj Mahal

A young man has been arrested for bursting a fire cracker close to the world heritage monument of the Taj Mahal here, police said.

Dharmendra, in his early 20s, burst the cracker Thursday and ran away. He used to sell 'kachauris' (an Indian savoury) near the Taj Mahal.

Upon hearing the blast, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) troopers and Uttar Pradesh policemen deployed in the area raised an alarm while tourists near the booking window huddled down or scurried to safety, not knowing who had fired and from where.

Senior police officers carried out an extensive probe and narrowed down to Dharmendra who was caught near Tulsi Chabutra after he burst what has been described as a "sutli bomb" near the Yellow Zone at the western gate of the monument.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Aditya Mishra told reporters Thursday evening that the youth appeared to have been coaxed by someone to burst the cracker. Investigations are on to determine the links and identify the people who might have instigated him.

Meanwhile, after hours of questioning at the Taj Ganj police station by Superintendent of Police (city) Udai Pratap and others, Dharmendra was sent to jail.

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