NEW DELHI, Nov 8: Five people were killed when they tried to dismantle a discarded artillery shell in the northern Indian town of Meerut, police said.

“The shell exploded when the victims, who were ragpickers, tried to dismantle it at an army dumpyard,” Meerut police inspector S.S. Saini said.

Meerut police chief Harbhajan Singh said six others were injured when the ragpickers used hammers in a bid to open the artillery shell.—AFP