JOIN US Tension gripped areas in and around Cauvery Theatre Junction for close to three hours on Friday afternoon after cops suspected that explosives could be hidden inside an abandoned bag and launched an operation to defuse it.
The drama ended on a happy note after the bomb detection and disposal squad staff recovered a bottle with some liquor from inside the bag. All senior police officers, including Police Commissioner N S Megharik, rushed to the spot and supervised the operation. The police cordoned off the entire junction for about three hours.
The operation was reminiscent of the one to defuse a live bomb near a shopping mall in Koramangala in July 2008. The drama unfolded around 11:30 am when Veerabhadra, a car driver, spotted a bag abandoned suspiciously near a transformer of the house where he is employed.
“Something was wrapped up inside the bag with the words in Chinese. The materials resembled some explosives and I called up the police control room,” he told Deccan Herald.
The police rushed to the spot along with the bomb detection and disposal squad. After preliminary check-up, the staff suspected the presence of some explosives inside the bag.
“We also deployed sniffer dogs and disconnected power supply to the entire area. We blocked the junction for traffic movement and cordoned off the area. We shifted residents in and around of the house on way to Sankey tank to others locations,” said a police officer.
Megharik was chairing a crime prevention meeting with senior officers in his new chamber inaugurated inside the new building on Friday. He called off the meeting and rushed to Sankey Road.
The bomb disposal squad first covered the bag with sand bags and slowly opened it. They recovered a bottle with some liquor. “The bag was wrapped up with some threads which resembled explosives. There is no need for panic. Bengalureans can celebrate Sankranthi without fear,” the officer said.
He said the liquor was made in China and about 15 mm drink was left in the bottle.
“Somebody abandoned the bottle and the bag after consuming liquor. Since there was no explosive, we will not register a case. We will find out who abandoned it and interrogate them,” the officer added.