Bokaro: A child, aged three and a half years, died after a firearm allegedly handed to him as a toy by his maternal uncle went off at Ranchi Mohalla near Colonel Market in Bokaro’s Marafari area on Saturday, police said.According to the boy’s mother, Shobha Devi, her brother Rajesh Kumar had come to visit the family when the child asked him for chocolate. She alleged that Kumar instead handed the boy a firearm, telling him it was a toy. The weapon allegedly discharged moments later, with the bullet hitting the child in the forehead.Family members said Kumar helped take the injured boy to hospital but fled later, allegedly carrying the firearm with him. The boy succumbed to his injuries during treatment.Police have launched a search for Kumar and are questioning family members to establish the sequence of events. Officers are also conducting raids at possible locations to trace him and recover the weapon.Marafari police station officer in-charge Sanjay Kumar said police reached the spot after receiving information and began an investigation.“Family members have alleged that the child was given the weapon as a toy. How the trigger was pressed is a matter of investigation. We are also probing why the firearm was being kept at the house and whether it was an illegal weapon,” he said.Police are examining whether the incident was accidental and are trying to determine how the firearm came into the family’s possession. The death has left the family shattered and shocked residents.
