A bomb disposal squad was rushed to the spot after an unexploded bomb was found a few hundred metres away from the helipad used by Punjab and Haryana chief ministers in Chandigarh on Monday, officials said.

The bomb was found in a mango garden on the Nayagaon-Kansal T-point, which is about a kilometre away from the helipad and about two kilometres from the official residences of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar, they said.

As soon as the police received information that a bomb-like object had been found in the high-security area, they reached the spot and cordoned off the area. A bomb disposal squad was also dispatched to the spot, the officials said.

The local administration informed the Army about it.

Sanjeev Kohli, nodal officer, disaster management, Chandigarh, said, "When we came and checked it we found that it was a live shell. We have secured the area." "It is a matter of investigation how this shell got here," he said.

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"With the help of police and the bomb disposal squad team, the shell has been placed in a drum and covered with sandbags and the Army has been informed," he said, adding, "Army officials will come and take care of it." Replying to a question, Kohli said in the past too discarded shells have been found.

The possibility of a scrap dealer dumping it here cannot be ruled out, he said. In the past, there have been cases of scrap dealers collecting used shells from the vicinity of military firing ranges.

Punjab Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) A K Pandey, who reached the spot, said it appears to be a "misfired shell". There are many scrap dealers in the area where the shell was found. It is being investigated if anyone could have discarded it here, he said.

"The area (where the shell was found) is about 2.5 km from the (Punjab) CM's residence," said Pandey. "It is not like anyone has planted a bomb," he added.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Chandigarh, Manisha Choudhary said, "The bomb detection squad of Chandigarh police has inspected the site and the object. The object has been safely isolated and we have informed the Army authorities at Chandimandir." "We have requested the (Army's) bomb disposal squad to come and dispose it of accordingly," she said.

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Choudhary said only Army authorities will be able to tell the exact nature of the object.

She said CCTV footage from nearby areas will be scanned to ascertain how the bomb got here. "We have secured this area and request people residing nearby to take precautions and maintain a safe distance from the site," the SSP said.

First Published:Jan 2, 2023 5:40 PM IST