Jamshedpur, Personnel of the Indian Army on Wednesday defused two active bombs, suspected to be from the World War II era, in Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district, a senior official said.
The explosives stuffed in metallic cylinder-shaped containers were defused within a gap of 30 minutes from one another, amid tight security arrangements, Deputy Commissioner Karn Satyarthi told PTI.
One of the bombs, weighing around 200 kg, was unearthed during sand excavation along the Panipada-Nagudsai stretch in Baharagora area last week, around 90 km from Jamshedpur, officials said.
The second bomb of a similar shape was discovered in a villager’s house during inspection of the spot on Monday, they said.
No damage to property or injury has been reported in the operation, but people were advised not to venture near the spot for the next 24 hours as a precautionary measure, the DC said.
“We sealed a one-km area around the spot for security reasons when the 23rd infantry division of Indian Army, in coordination with the Jharkhand Police, began the operation to detonate the explosives today morning,” Satyarthi said.
The explosives were dumped in a 25-30 feet trench that was dug close to the spot, and covered with sand bags to minimise any damage during the exercise, he said.
Asked about the origin of the bomb, the DC said experts from the Army will have to investigate into it.
“We will try to ensure that a complete investigation is held to confirm whether more such explosives exist in that area. If any more explosives of this nature are found near the spot, the administration will take those under its custody and initiate necessary action for deactivation,” he said.
The Jharkhand Police had earlier sought assistance from the Indian Army to defuse the bombs.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
