The Hindu : New Delhi News : Now anti-aircraft shells found

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 06, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Now anti-aircraft shells found

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, OCT. 5. While the bomb disposal squads are busy searching for rocket shells in the scrap loaded in trucks stationed at Kanha Upavan along the Hindon river banks in Ghaziabad, the recovery of a dozen anti-aircraft shells on Khurja-Aligarh Road in neighbouring Bulandshahr sent the entire local administration into a tizzy early this morning.

The shells, eight of which were found to be live, were dumped by the roadside near the Gawana police station around 6-30 a.m. The police immediately informed the Army for further action and the villagers were also alerted about the presence of explosives in the area.

The police believe that the shells might have been offloaded from a truck carrying scrap consignment. It is learnt that there was a big traffic snarl on Khurja-Aligarh Road on Monday night and it was possible that a truck carrying the shells might have downloaded them because of the presence of policemen there to clear the traffic.

Even as the Bulandshahr administration was trying to ascertain the origin of the shells, it is learnt that at least four more bombs were today found in the fields of Masoori village of Ghaziabad, a few kilometres away from the Bhushan Steels and Stripes unit. The police suspect that they could well be part of the explosives recovered from the scrap consignment brought to the unit.

Meanwhile, a labour union today staged a protest outside the Bhushan Steels and Strips demanding a compensation of Rs. 5 lakhs to the families of each of the dead. They also demanded arrest of the company owner for the huge explosion on September 30 that claimed the lives of 10 labourers and injured 15 others. They also smashed the window panes of a vehicle parked near the unit.

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