Munger, May 28: JD(U) legislator Mewalal Choudhary and wife Nita Choudhary, also an ex-MLA, have sustained severe burn injuries in a gas cylinder explosion in Bihar's Munger district, the police said.

While Nita suffered 90 per cent burn injuries and was battling for life, her husband escaped with burns on his hands, Munger Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Hari Shankar Kumar told PTI.

Sources in the neighbourhood said the couple woke up to foul smell in the middle of the night and switched on the lights in the kitchen, triggering the cylinder blast. LPG Cylinder Blast Boy Killed, Mother Injured in Navi Mumbai.

The ASP, however, clarified that the reason behind the explosion can be ascertained only after a thorough probe. Kumar said the couple was rushed to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Bhagalpur, where the doctors referred Nita to Patna Medical College and Hospital.

"From what we have heard last, Nita Chowdhury is being airlifted to Delhi from Patna for better treatment," he added. Mewalal Choudhary is the JD(U) legislator from Tarapur Assembly constituency in Munger. His wife had also represented the constituency in the past.