Journalism of Courage
Gurgaon police recovered two hand grenades, 17 practice grenades, a bicat strip and 43 long-range empty cartridges from an unoccupied house in Gurgaon’s sector 31 on Tuesday morning. Police said a bomb disposal squad was called and the explosives were successfully defused. The house owner has been booked under the explosives substances act, 1908.
Police said they received a tip-off from a source around 8 am about the presence of explosives and ammunition being hidden at a house, following which a raid was conducted. The area was cordoned off and an intensive search operation was launched. A dog squad was also called in.
Aman Yadav, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Sadar, said police first contacted the RWA president for information about the house owner and then carried out the raid.
“Two hand grenades and two polythene bags – one filled with 17 (MK 90) practice grenades and another with a 5 feet long Bicat strip with safety fuze and 43 empty cartridges (23 big and 20 small) – were recovered from a commode in the washroom of the house. The bomb disposal squad dug a six-feet deep trench in the lawn of the house and placed sand bags around it and the explosives were successfully defused through a controlled explosion. The house has been unoccupied for years,” said the ACP.
Police said the house owner is a resident of Delhi. He has been traced and will be questioned, police said in a statement.
Kuldeep Singh, SHO, Sector 40 police station, said, “We have contacted the house owner and he claims that he has not visited the house for several years and has no information about the explosives. The owner said the last time they visited the house was in 2019 for minor renovation and grass cutting. The shrubs, wild growth in the house’s lawn and furniture wear and tear indicate that it has been unattended for some time.”
Virender Vij, DCP east, said, “We are investigating from where the explosives and ammunition came to be hidden in the house. Whether it was being used as a hide-out by criminals or the cache was dumped there is a part of the investigation.”
Police said they are checking footage from CCTVs in the area. The discovery caused panic among residents on Tuesday morning as the entire lane was cordoned off and some houses on the back were evacuated as the bomb squad got to work.
B S Yadav, RWA president, said that around 9 am, he was contacted by the police. “I assumed it must be related to enquiry regarding the triple murder incident which occurred yesterday at a CNG pump nearby. Police procedure says that a raid can only be conducted with permission and in the presence of local residents. So, we entered the house P-12 and found the explosives in the bathroom commode,” said Yadav.
Yadav said the house owner had not visited since the pandemic. “Before Covid, the owner’s family used to visit over the weekend. The house has been vacant for a long time. I have not noticed anything suspicious,” he said.
Yadav also issued an advisory for residents assuring that the security of all unattended houses in the sector shall be assessed.
