JOIN USThe Centre has sent an advisory to all states asking them to alert prominent persons in their areas not to accept any gifts from unknown persons as there may be explosives inside.
The advisory was sent to the states following an intelligence input suggesting that terror modules were exploring the possibility of sending explosive material "gift wrapped" to prominent persons including some politicians.
The states have been advised to ensure that none of the parcels or gifts were opened by the people without proper checks.
The state protectees especially have been asked to subject every parcel through an explosive detecting machine.
In the past, parcel bombs and letter bombs have been used in various parts of the world with the recent incidents reported in the UK when a series of mail bombings injured nine people in February 2007.
Same year, in January, a bomber calling himself "The Bishop" sent several unassembled bombs to financial firms in the US, and was arrested in April 2007.
In India, a person was injured in Jamia Nagar last year April when he had received a parcel bomb.
A parcel bomb is essentially a pressure bomb. As soon as a person opens such a bomb, a pressure is created, which ignites the battery inside. Screws and sharp glass pieces explode with the aid of an explosive liquid.