Bomb scare at four places creates panic in Haridwar
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service
Haridwar, January 21
Just a day after four suspected terrorists were arrested from Roorkee, four incidents of bomb scare created panic in Haridwar city today.
The whole city came to a standstill today as a suspicious object was found outside the BSF check post at the railway station at 10:30 am. A bomb disposal squad of the BSF was rushed to the spot and the whole area was cordoned off by the BSF and Uttarakhand Police personnel.
IGP, Ardh Kumbh force, Ganesh Singh Martolia, Haridwar SSP D Senthil Krishan Prakash, SSP, Traffic, Shweta Chaubey and other senior police officials also reached the place. All shops and other commercial establishments were closed and people were told to leave their homes to go to a safe and open space.
As sniffer dogs and explosive detectors indicated presence of explosives, fully-equipped bomb disposal squad personnel were called. They adopted remote diffusion method and attached the remotely diffusing mechanism to the bag. A minor blast occurred in the process, which many people though was an explosive blast and the rumour spread like wildfire in the city.
Markets were soon deserted as people avoided going to open spaces, particularly towards the Railway Station road. The bomb disposal squad immediately senitised the blast spot.
Meanwhile, the closed road was opened for vehicular traffic within 10 minutes and security barricades were removed. Martolia said prima facie, no explosive or bomb was in the bag. The material found in the bag had been sent for forensic investigation.
“We are closely monitoring and reviewing security arrangements. Today’s bomb scare has shown that local people are quite aware as are they informing the police about any suspicious objects or persons, which is vital to thwart terror attacks. Additional central paramilitary forces will be deployed on Ardh Kumbh duty for the upcoming festive baths to strengthen he already intense security cover in the mela zone,” Martolia said.
Later in the day, local people informed the police about bags lying at the ITI, Jagjeetpur, and the Kankhal Chowk. Bomb disposal squads were immediately sent to these place but they did not find any explosives in the bags. The SSP said owing to the threat from terrorists, the police were taking additional precautionary measures.
“A round-the-clock vigil is being maintained and a checking drive is being conducted at border posts of the district. CCTV footage are also being monitored. Additional police personnel have been deployed at important public places,” the SSP said.
Sunil Kaushik, Deputy Commandant, BSF Bomb Disposal Squad, said four bomb disposal squads had been deployed in the Ardh Kumbh zone. Uttarakhand Bomb Disposal Squad inspector Ramesh Chandra said along with BSF teams and other paramilitary units, their team was well prepared to tackle any such incident. They were holding checking drives in the core mela zone.
