Traffic police had stopped the car during a routine vehicle check and the driver had told them that his two passengers identified as Sameer Basha and Dadapeer Khuddus, both hailing from Bellary, had hired the vehicle to go somewhere near Hubli-Dharwad. Police also noticed a bag kept between the two.
Noticing their discomfort on being questioned, the police personnel asked them to get down from the car and on checking it found two pipe bombs (explosive device contained in a metal pipe) wrapped in a newspaper, police said.
The police then took the duo into custody. Upon questioning, they said they had procured the bombs from a person named Ravikumar in Bellary.
The driver has also been taken into custody, police said.
Published 23 March 2011, 06:46 IST