Indian man gives ex-girlfriend explosive wedding gift that kills groom

Brother-in-law also died, while four others, including a toddler, suffered serious injuries

Sarju Makam, back row second from left, gave his ex-girlfriend a home theatre system rigged with explosives as a wedding gift. Photo: Indian Police Service

Police in India have arrested a man over a deadly bomb that killed his ex-girlfriend's new husband and brother-in-law.

Sarju Makam, 33, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of murder after he gave a home theatre system rigged with explosives as a wedding gift to the couple.

The bomb went off at the groom’s home in eastern Chhattisgarh on Monday.

Police said the explosion happened after the groom, identified as Hemendra Merawi, switched on the electronic system.

The powerful explosion instantly killed the 30-year-old man and injured his 32-year-old brother, Rajkumar, who later died at hospital.

Four others in the family, including a toddler, also suffered serious injuries.

Police said the accused had planted the device with two-kilogrammes of explosives to take revenge on his ex-girlfriend, who married on April 1.

Investigations revealed that Mr Markam, who is married, went to the wedding and presented the gift, without mentioning his name, and quietly left.

The family opened the gifts three days after, police said.

“We got the information about a blast and when we reached the spot, the groom was already dead," Manisha Thakur, additional superintendent of Kabirdham police, told The National.

"We did a spot inspection and found that an electronic gadget had exploded but there was a smell of gunpowder in the air which made us curious.”

Mr Markam worked in the blasting department at a stone crusher plant in central Indore city and had procured the explosives from his workplace, police allege.

“He was working at the crusher plant since 2015 and was collecting ammonium nitrate. He mixed the ammonium nitrate with one kilogram of gunpowder from firecrackers and petrol to make the bomb and planted it in the music system,” Ms Thakur said.