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‘IED’ blast near Indo-Pak border creates panic in Kathua, live grenade found
Police officials rushed to the spot along the along the Pakistan border in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district after the blast, which reportedly occurred at 10.15 pm; no casualty reported so far
A suspected improvised explosive device (IED) blast rocked a border hamlet in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, creating a huge crater in the ground, officials said on Thursday.
Security forces have been put on high alert in the border belts and along the Jammu-Pathankot highway following the explosion that took place on Wednesday night.
On Thursday, security forces during searches also recovered a live grenade near the police post.
Following the blast, police teams, including Kathua senior superintendent of police (SSP) SDS Jamwal, along with bomb disposal squad and CRPF men rushed to the spot and launched immediate searches to locate the site of blast.
Jamwal said, “Last night, we got information about a powerful blast in Sanyal village. We found a crater at the blast site near a bridge. The bomb disposal squad has collected some samples.”
Officials privy to the development said possibility of some drone dropping the payload can’t be ruled out. They said it appeared the payload might have missed the intended target.
However, additional director general of police, Jammu, Mukesh Singh said, “We can’t say this for sure (drone dropping the payload), unless we get some evidence linking it with a drone drop.”
The Wednesday blast that was heard in four to five villages took place near a border police post in Sanyal village, barely four kilometers away from the Zero Line on the International Border in Hiranagar sector.
Block development committee (BDC) chairperson Ram Lal Kaliya, a resident of Sanyal village which is just 300 metres from the border post, said, “Around 9.30pm on Wednesday, we heard an explosion. I informed the post in-charge.”
No losses or damages to property have been reported so far.
