Bomb scare at Shivajinagar bus stand on Thursday
Sakaal Times: As the city reels under the shocking revelations of alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist David Headley’s stay in the city, a bomb scare shook the Shivajinagar area on Thursday evening after an unclaimed bag was found lying at the entrance of the State Transport (ST) stand.
It was initially feared that there was a bomb inside a suitcase. However, after a thorough checking by the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), it was found that there was no bomb inside. The bag was containing a tool box and water bottle.
“At around 6 pm, I received a call from the constable on duty at the ST stand (Jhanjure) informing about an unclaimed baggage. I immediately left for the ST stand with my staff and also alerted the Bomb Disposal Squad,” Shivajinagar police station in-charge Senior Police Inspector Sampatrao Patil told Sakaal Times.
Soon after reaching the spot, the police cordoned off the area keeping the crowd at bay to prevent them from coming close to the baggage. “Soon after we arrived, the BDS also arrived. They first used the sniffer dogs to detect presence of any explosive. No explosive was detected. Then hand-held X-ray machine was used. Even this could not detect any bomb. Finally, small gelatin stick was fixed with baggage lock to trigger a small explosion for opening it. No explosives were found inside,” Patil said.
The ST stand in-charge and traffic controller Umakant Mahamuni said that it was an alert passenger who informed him about the unclaimed baggage.
“At 5 pm, an alert passenger informed us about the baggage. We began clearing the entire area. We stopped the buses from entering the stand premises and alerted the duty constable. He informed his superiors. As soon as the police team arrived, we joined them in cordoning off the entire area,” Mahamuni said.
Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) Divisional Controller Madhukar Sonawane and Depot Manager Arun Gole also reached the spot to control the situation.
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