Junked firecrackers create a scare in Ramanagaram

A bunch of unused firecrackers discarded on the roadside at Ijoor village in Ramanagaram district panicked local residents who mistook them for bombs on Monday morning.

A few passersby stumbled on the “explosive-like” substances discarded near a hotel on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway. They informed the police who, in turn, called the bomb squad.

After a thorough inspection, however, the police concluded that it was nothing but a bunch of unused firecrackers. Members of a local group had lit firecrackers during a Ganesha immersion procession on Sunday night. They had discarded the unused firecrackers, a senior police officer said.

It may be recalled that in June, a team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the police had found two live crude bombs concealed in mud pots and cardboard boxes from a stormwater drain in the Tippu Nagar area of Ramanagaram, following the arrest of a suspected member of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB), a Bangladesh-based terror outfit.

The officer said security had been beefed up at public places across Karnataka following intelligence inputs about possible terror strikes during the Dasara festival.