6 live bombs found near Sher Shah’s mausoleum in Bihar

SASARAM: THREE MEN WERE CAUGHT WITH BOMBS, THE POLICE SAID, ADDING THAT A BOX CONTAINING BOMB MAKING MATERIALS AND AN SUV PARKED THERE HAD BEEN SEIZED

Police recovered six live bombs near the mausoleum of Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri, an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monument, at Sasaram in Bihar’s Rotas district on Sunday night.

Three men had been detained and bomb making materials as well as a sports utility vehicle (SUV) seized, the police said.

Police said a patrol team, led by assistant sub inspector Pradip Pandey, noticed some men moving in suspicious condition near the 16th century mausoleum at Rohtas district headquarters Sasaram, 66 km west of state capital Patna, on Sunday night. While two of them managed to escape, three were caught with bombs, the police said, adding that a box containing bomb making materials and a SUV parked there had been seized.

One of the men taken into custody claimed that he was the driver of the seized vehicle, the police added.

The three men, in the age group of 18-20, told police that they had come to Sasaram to attend a marriage ceremony and were making firecrackers for the function. Not satisfied with their reply, the police brought them to the Sasaram Town police station, where the driver was released after interrogation.

Police said the two men in the custody had been identified as Babu Khan and Shahid Khan of Bikramganj, a town in the district 42 km from Sasaram. On the basis of inputs provided by them, their accomplish Pappu Khan was apprehended on Monday, the police added.

During interrogation, they revealed that Babu Khan had visited Hyderabad recently and returned to Sasaram about 15 days back. One of them had earlier been to jail in a criminal case, the police said, adding that top police and intelligence officers were questioning them for their possible links with terror outfits.

Rohtas superintendent of police Manavjit Singh Dhillon said the three men had not been formally arrested as the interrogation was still underway.