When a policeman casually took a robust bomb inside police station in Chennai

On a sunny morning, 27 years in the past, an explosion may have killed policemen contained in the Anna Salai police station in Chennai. What saved them was the bomb’s defective timer machine.

This incident that came about in Tamil Nadu on February 25 in 1998 is price recalling in mild of the unintended blast of seized explosives on the Nowgam police station in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, this Children’s Day, which led to demise of 9 individuals and left 32 others injured.

It was a busy morning. Scores of women and men have been ready to board buses on the TVS bus cease on the arterial Anna Salai (Mount Road), one of many busiest commute level within the State capital. Someone seen an unclaimed bag on the bus cease reverse the Spencer Plaza, a well-liked hangout in these days. Since a serial bomb explosion had taken place in Coimbatore solely 11 days earlier, individuals panicked on the sight of the bag.

A police constable who arrived on the spot casually picked up the bag and took it to the Anna Salai police station, situated simply yards away. He positioned it on a desk contained in the station and knowledgeable senior officers.

‘Tiffin field bomb’

A bomb professional, who examined the bags, was bowled over to search out it was a bomb. It later got here to be known as the ‘tiffin field bomb’. The explosive materials was packed inside a stainless-steel container, lined with a plastic cowl and linked to a small plastic field pitted with a timer machine. The metal field and its cowl have been strapped with pink and yellow tape and positioned inside a Rexine bag.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the bomb, which might have an effect over a radius of 300 metres didn’t explode due to a defective timer machine,” mentioned a report in The Hindu dated February 26, 1998. It contained 5 kg of gelatine materials and was connected to batteries and a detonator. “The timer has been set within the reverse course which delayed the explosion which was aimed to happen round 9.30 am when the bus cease is often a lot crowded. In the affect a number of buildings would have been broken within the space,” the report quoting a bomb professional mentioned.

The ‘tiffin field bomb’ was later taken to an open floor and defused by the bomb detection and disposal squad.

Sensitisation

The informal dealing with of the bomb by the constable, nevertheless, grew to become a dialogue level throughout the police circles. It underscored the necessity to sensitise police personnel on dealing with unclaimed baggage.

“Though police have launched an consciousness marketing campaign amongst merchants, theatre managers and safety personnel of procuring complexes in regards to the precautions to be taken throughout ‘bomb risk’ conditions, by means of a sequence of public conferences, it’s ironical a number of males in uniform are unaware of the fundamental precautionary measures,” The Hindu wrote in a follow-up report.

‘Force of behavior’

“A police officer admitted that fortunately the timer machine was defective and the bomb was crude, and the policeman was maybe unaware that there are specific units which might explode if even moved. He added by behavior police personnel are inclined to take ‘mysterious parcels’ to their respective stations for verification, as police are but to take the specter of bombs very significantly. Even on Thursday, it’s learnt that the police took a parcel discovered within the Buckingham Canal to the Pulianthope police station. However, for a change, it was taken after it had been checked on the spot, it’s learnt. The frequent observe adopted by station degree officers is to dump the ‘deserted parcels’ into water tanks or sumps throughout the premises of police stations,” the report mentioned.

But the TVS Bus Stop case was not an remoted one. A day later, some policemen have been seen kicking round an object with a fuse, resembling a gelatine stick, close to the Music College on Greenways Road, Chennai, whereas many motorists have been passing by and a few appeared on curiously.

As for the supply of the ‘tiffin field bomb’, the police suspected the position of 1 Amanullah, who was earlier arrested from Vepery in Chennai for storing a consignment of detonators. Amanullah and his confederate Shah Jahan had managed to flee from police custody.