Dummy Bomb-Like Object Triggers Security Scare in Bengaluru; Police Probe Underway

Bengaluru, Oct 31 : A suspicious bomb-like object found abandoned on a vacant plot near Sonehalli Circle in Bengaluru triggered a security scare on Saturday, prompting a bomb disposal squad inspection and a police investigation to identify those responsible.

The object was spotted by passersby on a vacant plot adjoining a footpath within the limits of Jnanabharathi police station. Suspecting it to be a possible explosive device, locals alerted the emergency response number 112.

Police personnel and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) rushed to the spot and examined the object. The squad found that it was an empty plastic tube-like structure that posed no danger. The object was subsequently disposed of by the team.

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said there was no cause for concern, describing the object as a standalone mechanism without any complicated battery. He suggested that it might have been used in quarrying activities.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest Division) S K Soumyalatha said the object had triggered panic among the public. The BDDS examined and disposed of it after confirming that it was empty.

Police have registered a case and are examining CCTV footage from the surrounding areas to identify those who placed the object at the spot and ascertain the circumstances behind the incident. Further investigation is underway.

The incident comes amid heightened security vigilance in Bengaluru following an explosion at an under-construction building in Pulakeshinagar on October 20, in which two persons were injured.

In that separate case, police arrested three persons and subsequently ruled out a terror angle, identifying personal enmity arising from land, financial and family disputes as the motive behind the attack.

However, police have not indicated any connection between the Jnanabharathi incident and the Pulakeshinagar explosion.