Ahead of Independence Day, police have recovered a tiffin box bomb packed with over 2 kg of RDX from a village in Amritsar which they suspect was dropped by a drone flying in from Pakistan.
Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said some other explosives were also found from the bag containing the tiffin bomb.
“We have made some recoveries yesterday (Sunday) in Amritsar rural district. We have recovered some hand grenades and cartridges… Most important is a tiffin box bomb with an Improvised Explosive Device,” Gupta told a news conference here.
“The IED was created in a double-chambered tiffin box. Last evening, the recovery was made from Amritsar near Dhalike village under Lopoke Police Station,” he added.
He further said, “Our assessment is that this bomb has been delivered through a drone across the border.”
The DGP said a former village sarpanch had informed police about some drone movements in the area.
The police found an abandoned bag that had seven pouches, a plastic tiffin, five hand grenades and 100 rounds of 9 mm pistol rounds. An explosive substance weighing over 2 kg, a remote control device and a switch were also found, the DGP said. The bomb was packed in foam packing, he added.
The Punjab Police is taking the help of the National Security Guard (NSG).
“The NSG team has arrived and they have given a preliminary report… they said it is a sophisticated bomb and has about 2-3 kg of RDX explosive. It has a switch mechanism and can provide a timed explosion. It also has a magnetic mechanism with two U-shaped magnets, and a printed circuit board which can help in remote signal,” the DGP said.
A power energiser of 9 volts and three detonators were also found from the bag, he added.
According to Gupta, the explosive could have been used against any target.
Meanwhile, few months ago, 11 hand grenades dropped by a drone flying in from Pakistan were seized near the International Border in Punjab's Gurdaspur district. The consignment was found in a field in Salach village, located about one km from the border.
The first incident of dropping of arms and weapons through drones from Pakistan came to light in Punjab in September 2019 when police recovered AK-47 rifles, magazines and rounds of ammunition, hand grenades, fake currency and other items in Tarn Taran district.