A ragpicker was killed and a passerby injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in a garbage bin on Qasimabad road in Hyderabad on Monday night, officials said.

“It was an improvised explosive device of around 90 grams,” Ramzan Panhwar of Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) said after collecting particles and other forensic evidence from the blast site.

The IED was planted in a garbage bin, BDS officials said. They mentioned that the blast created a small crater of several inches where the IED was kept.

Panhwar said probably the rage picker had tried to collect or open the IED due to which it exploded. Meanwhile, BDS officials said it was an electric device.

Police’s forensic wing officials also reached the blast site and collected evidence. “The ragpicker’s upper torso, from his ribs to face, was badly hit,” a security official said.

SSP Pir Shah Mohammad said that no secondary device was found from the blast site and the body was moved to a hospital for postmortem examination.

“It was not a terrorist activity. I feel that someone had dumped explosives like a hand grenade,” the SSP said.

The deceased remained unidentified till filing of this report. The injured, Idris son of Mehran Solangi, 35, was taken to Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) city branch.

The explosion occurred at around 6.45pm and the blast sound was heard in the nearby localities connected with Qasimabad road. The ragpicker’s body was also shifted to LUH.