In what is being speculated as the first of such an attack, a 45-year-old man named Benny walked into the house of 35-year-old Amala and set off a suicide bomb that killed them both. Reportedly, the man set fire to a country bomb made of gelatin sticks that he had tied to himself while hugging her. It is rumoured by the neighbours that this incident, which took place last Friday in the Naikatti district of Wayanad, Kerala, was because of a forbidden extra-marital affair the couple were involved in. While the man’s actions blew them to bits, Amala’s three-year-old daughter, who was present at the time, managed to escape the scene unharmed.According to police reports, the blast happened at 1.30 pm in the veranda of Amala’s house, while her husband Ilavana Nasar was at the mosque. The couple were reportedly family friends and had known each other for eight years. But after several warnings from her husband and relatives, local furniture shop owner Benny was asked to back off. Clearly, he couldn’t take no for an answer.While the exact details of the case are still fuzzy and under investigation, such country-made bombs are commonly used by farmers in the state to keep away elephants and wild boars as well as by mining employees. The state of Kerala has witnessed the use of several crude bombs in the recent months—from those being flung at election party workers’ homes over the Sabarimala issue to a recent incident where a crude bomb went off in a playground leaving a 14-year-old boy injured.This case not only serves as a painful reminder that love can quite literally hurt, but also draws attention to the scary situation of easily available explosives in India.Follow Shamani Joshi on Instagram.
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