Fake IED creates panic in Naini
PRAYAGRAJ: A fake improvised explosive device (IED) caused panic among locals near a railway under bridge in Naini, sending police and other security agencies into an alert overdrive, on Saturday morning.
Police cordoned off the area and diverted traffic even as members of the bomb disposal and anti-terrorist squads reached the area. However, investigation revealed that a fake IED resembling a time bomb, made using disposable water bottles, had been put at the site by a miscreant, police said. Efforts have now begun to identify and nab the culprit, they added. SSP, Prayagraj, Ajay Kumar confirmed the incident and said that it seems to be a mischievous act by someone deliberately trying to create panic.
“Everything is normal. We are now trying to identify the culprit with the help of CCTV cameras in the vicinity,” he added.
The incident took place on the day EC of India announced the assembly election schedule of the state and just days before Magh Mela-2022 is set to begin in Prayagraj. Rambabu, a ragpicker, spotted a circuit-like object in three-four disposable bottles of water near the railway under bridge close to the Leprosy
crossing on Rewa Road, in Naini, on Saturday morning and informed a nearby tea seller. The tea seller, in turn, informed the police. Within moments, a police team reached the spot followed by senior officials including SSP Ajay Kumar, SP trans-Yamuna Saurabh Dixit and the bomb disposal squad. Following the protocol, the police cordoned off the area and diverted all traffic for a while. The bomb disposal squad conducted investigation using a bomb detector. Members of the team also went on an alert when a timer was detected. However, when the bomb disposal team opened the package, they found it to be a fake IED. Police said that the culprit had used disposable water bottles and even installed a timer connected by inserting an electric wire in it. In 2016-17 too many such fake IEDs were found in different areas of the district including Meja. However, the police had failed to find the culprit then.