Gurugram: Grenades found in unoccupied house, defused

Gurugram, March 1 (IANS) A large cache of arms and ammunition, including two live hand grenades, was recovered from the bathroom of an unoccupied house in Sector 31 here on Tuesday, the police said.

The police said that during the five-hour-long operation which started at around 9.30 am, a bomb disposal squad managed to successfully diffuse two hand grenades, while two polythene bags -- one filled with 15 MK 90 practice grenades and one with Bicait strip -- were recovered from the spot.

The team also recovered 43 used cartridges from the spot.

"A bomb disposal squad was called after a tip-off was received, which successfully defused the grenades and MK practice grenades and Bicait strip, which were found in the bathroom of the house. The house owner, who is residing in Delhi, has been traced by the police," said Subhash Boken, spokesperson for Gurugram Police.

The owner of the house has been identified as Ravinder Aggarwal.

An official said that to defuse the bombs, a seven feet trench was dug and a few blocks of cement bags were used to stop any further explosion.

During the operation, a loud sound was heard when the bombs were being defused.

"It was surprising that bombs were recovered from a residential area. It appears to be a serious lapse on the part of the security set up," Harender Singh, a neighbour, told IANS, adding that they did not notice any suspicious activities near the house.

The police said that based on a tip-off, they launched a search operation in the house along with the bomb squad and a dog squad. The area was cordoned off during the search operation.

It appears that a consignment of arms was hidden by someone who is yet to be identified.

"When I came to know of the incident, I immediately reached the spot. It was shocking for us that bombs were recovered from a residential area. I am a former army man. The bombs were old," B.S. Yadav, RWA President of Sector 31, told IANS.