Father-son killed in dynamite blast in UP

Lucknow : A man and his son were killed in a dynamite blast set off by unidentified assailants in a Varanasi village in Uttar Pradesh early on Wednesday, police said.

The heads of the victims, who were sleeping in the courtyard of their house, were blown to pieces, a police officer told IANS. The deceased were identified as Lalaji Yadav, 48, and Ajay Yadav, 22.

The unidentified assailants blasted a dynamite stick right beside the victims' heads in the Milopur village home. The pieces of their skulls were scattered around a 30-metre radius, the police officer said.

The explosion was initially mistaken for a tyre burst by the neighbours.

The officer said the wires and the dynamite stick recovered from the crime scene resembled the type of explosives used in mines to blow up rocks.

Traffic was blocked on the Pahadiya-Balua road as villagers protested.