The shell of a hand grenade was found during the excavation for metro-related work inside the boundary walls of the Indian Institute of Science and Research (IISER) on Baner road in Pune on Tuesday morning.
There is a 2.25-acre land inside the IISER boundary wall which is used for erecting an electric substation. For this purpose, an excavation was going on at the spot for the metro line, according to police officials.
“When we say grenade, it was just the shell. Usually there is a plunger and a pin. After the pin is removed and the plunger is released, it bursts. In this case, both were missing,” said deputy commissioner of police Pankaj Deshmukh of Zone-4 of Pune police.
IISER is close to several military establishments including the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE). The grounds where it was found was also in possession of the military in the past and was used for various purposes.
The police have informed the officials at the ordnance factory in Khadki to determine and identify the make and model of the grenade. The grenade had an inscription “hand grenade 36” on it.
{{/usCountry}}The police have informed the officials at the ordnance factory in Khadki to determine and identify the make and model of the grenade. The grenade had an inscription “hand grenade 36” on it.
{{/usCountry}}“We have secured it and after the court order it will be disposed. That process will take another three to four days, I assume. The BDDS has a safe location for storage of such material. It will remain in that facility until the court order is secured. Since, it has been there for so many years, it is safe to assume that it won’t burst until we charge and burst it,” said Milind Patil, assistant commissioner of police, Special Branch-1.
The grenade is suspected to be British-era due to the rusty and old look of the grenade. However, the ordnance factory officials are yet to confirm the ammunition’s timeline.