A car carrying unassembled explosive materials was found abandoned at Carmichael Road in South Mumbai on Thursday evening, near Antilia, the residence of billionaire Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, triggering a bomb scare. The authorities were alerted about the car and all roads leading to the location were cordoned off by the police.
The bomb squad was dispatched immediately to the spot. According to Mumbai Police, the vehicle was examined by a Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), and gelatin, a substance often used to make explosives, was recovered from it. More than 20 gelatin sticks were reportedly found from the car. The police said that the vehicle’s number plate was reportedly forged which made the authorities suspicious. After checking, the car was towed by traffic police. “It is not an assembled explosive device,” the police said. Further investigation is underway, added a police officer.
Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police Vishwas Nagre Patil said that the car in which the gelatine sticks were found had a registration number similar to that of a vehicle in the security detail of the Ambanis. A letter has also been recovered from the vehicle. The matter has been handed over to the crime branch for further investigation. More details are awaited. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh confirmed the incident and said, “The matter is being probed by the Mumbai crime branch, so that the truth comes to the fore as soon as possible.”
With inputs from agencies