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Six-year-old boy finds toy in Jammu garbage dump, turns out to be Chinese weapon scope
During questioning, the child’s family told officials that he had allegedly found the object in a nearby garbage dump earlier in the day.
Police on Sunday recovered a Chinese-made telescope that can be mounted on a firearm from the Sidhra area of Jammu, prompting a security alert and further investigation, officials said.
According to the police, the weapon-mountable telescope - also described as an assault rifle scope capable of being attached to a sniper rifle - was found in the Asrarabad locality of Sidhra after a six-year-old boy was seen playing with it.
During questioning, the child’s family told officials that he had allegedly found the object in a nearby garbage dump earlier in the day.
“Jammu (Rural) Police recovered a telescope (that can be mounted on a weapon) from the Sidhra area,” a police spokesperson said, adding that teams of the Special Operations Group (SOG) were conducting a detailed inquiry into the recovery.
Senior police officers also visited the spot where the Chinese-made weapon attachment was found. The recovery led to a wider search operation in the Sidhra area, particularly as the location is close to the headquarters of the National Investigation Agency in Jammu.
Police, however, urged people not to panic. “The public is advised not to panic,” the spokesperson said, stressing that all necessary security measures were in place.
In a separate incident, police detained a 24-year-old man, identified as Tanvir Ahmad, from village Diani in Samba for questioning. Officials said Ahmad was taken into custody after a Pakistani phone number was reportedly found on his mobile phone.
Ahmad is a resident of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and is currently living in Samba, officials added. Further questioning is underway to ascertain any possible links between the two incidents.
Police said investigations in both cases are ongoing.
