Punjab on high alert after recovery of 'Tiffin Bomb’ and ammunition at Amritsar village

A high alert was sounded across Punjab on Monday following the recovery of a ‘Tiffin bomb’ and ammunition at a village located near the international border in Amritsar district. The bomb and ammunition were allegedly dropped in Indian territory by a drone sent from Pakistan during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

State Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta called a press conference on Sunday morning and informed that a high alert has been sounded in the state following the recovery of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) resembling a Tiffin box. Besides this, five hand-grenades and 100 rounds of 9 mm pistol were also recovered from DalekeLopoke village in Amritsar.

Gupta said that following inputs regarding drone activity in the area of villages including Daleke, Bacchiwind and Shohra, a massive combing operation led by SSP Amritsar Rural Gulneet Singh was launched around the villages during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

During the search operation, Gupta said, the police team recovered a bag carrying a double-decker children's lunch box bearing ‘Minions’ cartoon picture and other ammunition packed very meticulously in soft foam pouches. He said preliminary investigations indicated that the bag was dropped through a drone which crossed the border into India.

He said that the police teams secured the bag and a team of National Security Guards (NSG) team was called in, which confirmed the presence of 2-3 kg of RDX in the Tiffin Box which had been fabricated into a bomb.

“The RDX was installed in the Tiffin box in such a sophisticated manner that it has three different mechanisms including switch, magnetic and spring for operational flexibility,” he said, adding that further investigations were on.

Gupta cautioned the people of Punjab to remain alert all the time, and immediately report to the police if they find any suspicious thing lying abandoned or unclaimed anywhere, including in trains, buses or restaurants etc. “People can inform the police on 112 or 181 helpline numbers,” he added.