Tamil Nadu: Unexploded bomb diffused 4 days after blast near temple pond that killed 2

Blast occurred at a temple in Kanchipuram, image via Twitter

An unexploded shell was discovered at premises of Gangai Amman Temple in Kanchipuram district’s Manampathi where a recent blast had killed 2 and injured 4 people. According to an India Today report, the Tamil Nadu police, along with the bomb detection and disposal squad defused the bomb on Friday.

As per reports, the unexploded shell was high-explosive anti-tank ammunition. It was allegedly left there by a scrap shop owner who had relocated. The report states that another shell was discovered and diffused by the bomb squad on Monday.

At least two people had been killed and four injured in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram district on August 25 (Sunday) when an unidentified object found near a temple pond suddenly blew up.

Reportedly, the incident happened behind the Gangai Amman Koil in Manampathi, near Tirupathur in Kanchipuram district. However, the police said the incident was not connected with the current terrorist alert in the state.

In the blast, a 22-year-old named Surya, and another person had succumbed to injuries while four others including Jayaram (28), Dileepan (25), Yuvaraj (25) and Thirumal (22) had been severely injured. They had been admitted to Chengalpattu Government Hospital.

The explosion had taken place at an unused pond behind the temple tank. Samples had been collected from the blast spot by the Police to ascertain whether it was an IED blast or not.

After the blast, the Tamil Nadu police had cordoned off the entire pond. The bomb squad, consisting of ex-servicemen, had combed the entire area using a bomb detector and a sniffer dog.

Recently, the state of Tamil Nadu was put on high alert following inputs that that six Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists may have entered Coimbatore from Sri Lanka for possible attacks in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The security agencies had reportedly alerted that the terrorists might disguise themselves as Hindus to avoid detection.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia