Ludhiana: Unattended briefcase spotted at Dholewal Bridge at 8 pm on Wednesday, squad reaches spot three and a half hours later
The bomb scare near Dholewal Bridge last night brought to the fore a very grave situation. While the country is still picking up the pieces after the Terror attacks in Mumbai, the various departments of Ludhiana are not well equipped to tackle any such strikes. This, despite the fact that the intelligence agencies had recently alerted Ludhiana, among other cities of the state, for being on the hitlist of the terrorists.
There is only one bomb disposal squad in the state and that too remains on VIP duties most of the time. Meanwhile, no one in the city has heard about a hazmat van (hadardous materials), which is equipped to meet exigencies like bomb scare.
Requesting anonymity, senior police officers told Newsline that the state’s lone bomb disposal squad from the Punjab Armed Police (PAP), Jalandhar, was on a VIP duty at Budhlada from where it was called to the city last night after a briefcase was spotted from near the urinals under the Dholewal Bridge.
The bomb scare near Dholewal Bridge last night brought to the fore a very grave situation. While the country is still picking up the pieces after the Terror attacks in Mumbai, the various departments of Ludhiana are not well equipped to tackle any such strikes. This, despite the fact that the intelligence agencies had recently alerted Ludhiana, among other cities of the state, for being on the hitlist of the terrorists.
There is only one bomb disposal squad in the state and that too remains on VIP duties most of the time. Meanwhile, no one in the city has heard about a hazmat van (hadardous materials), which is equipped to meet exigencies like bomb scare.
Requesting anonymity, senior police officers told Newsline that the state’s lone bomb disposal squad from the Punjab Armed Police (PAP), Jalandhar, was on a VIP duty at Budhlada from where it was called to the city last night after a briefcase was spotted from near the urinals under the Dholewal Bridge.
Sources said the PAP bomb disposal squad was in Budhlada where SAD president Sukhbir Badal had to attend a political programme.
The briefcase was spotted around 8 pm on Wednesday. Though the police reached the spot immediately and cordoned off the entire area besides putting sandbags around the suspected briefcase, it took over three and a half hours for the bomb disposal squad to reach the spot. Around midnight, the briefcase was checked and no bomb was found.
A senior police officer said on condition of anonymity: “Had there really been a bomb in the briefcase, the Dholewal Bridge, which is meant for heavy utility vehicles, would have been completely damaged.”
The officer said that about two months ago, the Ludhiana police had sent a proposal for forming a bomb disposal squad for Ludhiana, the biggest city of the state. The proposal has not been accepted yet by the senior police functionaries in Chandigarh.
Another police officer said Ludhiana, like many other states, needs its own hazmat vans, which are fully equipped to fight bomb scares and similar situations.
Asked if the Ludhiana police were following the instructions of the intelligence agencies, SSP (Urban) R K Jaiswal said: “We are keeping a tab on the situation. We regularly check vehicles, though manually, in a number of areas of the city, among other measures.”
The briefcase was spotted around 8 pm on Wednesday. Though the police reached the spot immediately and cordoned off the entire area besides putting sandbags around the suspected briefcase, it took over three and a half hours for the bomb disposal squad to reach the spot. Around midnight, the briefcase was checked and no bomb was found.
A senior police officer said on condition of anonymity: “Had there really been a bomb in the briefcase, the Dholewal Bridge, which is meant for heavy utility vehicles, would have been completely damaged.”
The officer said that about two months ago, the Ludhiana police had sent a proposal for forming a bomb disposal squad for Ludhiana, the biggest city of the state. The proposal has not been accepted yet by the senior police functionaries in Chandigarh.
Another police officer said Ludhiana, like many other states, needs its own hazmat vans, which are fully equipped to fight bomb scares and similar situations.
Asked if the Ludhiana police were following the instructions of the intelligence agencies, SSP (Urban) R K Jaiswal said: “We are keeping a tab on the situation. We regularly check vehicles, though manually, in a number of areas of the city, among other measures.”
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