Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 9
A week ahead of the Independence Day celebrations, a high alert has been sounded in Punjab following the recovery of an improvised explosive device (IED) concealed in a tiffin box along with five hand grenades and 100 rounds of 9mm pistol from Daleke village in Lopoke, Amritsar.
‘Dropped’ by drone
- The bag with a lunch box and ammunition packed in soft foam was apparently dropped through a drone from across the border
- The box was fabricated into an IED with 2-3 kg RDX. It had three mechanisms — switch, magnet and spring — for operational flexibility
Report suspicious activity
People must remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity or article lying in trains, buses, eateries, etc. to the police helpline numbers 112 or 181. — Dinkar Gupta, Director General of police
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, who is slated to hoist the Tricolour in Amritsar, has been flagging the designs of cross-border agencies to foment trouble in the state.
DGP Dinkar Gupta, addressing a press conference here today, said following inputs regarding drone activity in the area of border villages, including Daleke, Bachiwind and Shohra, a massive combing operation, led by Amritsar SSP Rural Gulneet Singh, was launched on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.
The police team recovered a bag from the fields carrying a double-decker children’s lunch box and other ammunition packed meticulously in soft foam. Preliminary investigations indicated the bag was dropped through a drone, which crossed the border into India, he said. The target of the bomb was yet to be ascertained, said the DGP.
Police teams secured the bag and a team of the National Security Guards (NSG) was called in. It confirmed the presence of 2-3 kg of RDX in the tiffin box, which had been fabricated into an IED.
“The RDX was placed in the tiffin box in such a sophisticated manner that it has three different mechanisms — switch, magnet and spring — for operational flexibility,” said the DGP, adding further investigations were on.
The DGP said a high alert had been sounded across the state. He cautioned people to remain vigilant and report any suspicious article or activity to the police. “Police can be reached at 112 or 181 helpline numbers,” he added.
An FIR had been registered under Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act, and 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act at the Lopoke police station in this connection.
High alert as ‘tiffin bomb’ found in Amritsar
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