Scare before Independence-Day: IED, grenades & 9mm bullets found near border in Amritsar

CHANDIGARH: Ahead of Independence Day, Punjab Police have sounded an alert in the state. The force on Monday claimed to has recovered a tiffin box fabricated into an improvised explosive device (IED), five hand grenades and 100 rounds of 9mm bullets from Daleke village near Lopoke in Amritsar district on Sunday evening. Police suspect the drone had been dropped from the Pakistan side and have registered an FIR.
Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta on Monday said about noon on August 8, information was given to police by a former sarpanch of Bacchiwind village, which falls under Lopoke police station, about drone activity on August 7 night in the area of Daleke, Bacchiwind and Shohra villages. Thereafter, a combing operation led by Amritsar SSP (rural) Gulneet Singh was launched.

During the search, a police team found a bag carrying a double-decker children’s plastic lunch box bearing ‘Minions’ cartoon picture and other ammunition packed meticulously in soft foam pouches. The preliminary investigation indicated that the bag was dropped through a drone, which crossed into India from Pakistan.
On police’s request, a team from the National Security Guards (NSG) reached the spot and confirmed the presence of 2-3kg 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,” said Gupta. He added an investigation was underway. The DGP said it was a highly sophisticated IED and its remote activation was also enabled. Three detonators were also seized from the spot.
A high alert has been sounded across the state, said DGP Gupta, while cautioning citizens to remain alert and inform cops if they find anything suspicious, abandoned or unclaimed anywhere, including on trains, buses, and in restaurants.
The DGP said he had briefed chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh already held a meeting with SSPs and commissioners of police, besides other senior officers, on Monday morning, asking them to remain vigilant, especially as Independence Day is approaching. The DGP said in the past two-three months, there had been an increased drone activity on the border from the Pakistan side.