Explosives in Red Fort spark panic
It is suspected to be government ammunition but the matter is being looked into.
New Delhi: Security agencies were thrown into a tizzy after live rounds and boxes of explosives were found in a well inside the Red Fort on Saturday evening.
The recovery was made during a clean-up drive of the wells located inside the Red Fort premises to re-establish water flow inside the dried out Baoli in the monument.
“On Saturday evening at 5 pm, during the cleaning of the wells behind the publication building under the supervision of ASI, labourers found a trunk inside one of the wells. When the trunk was opened, a huge cache of explosives and ammunitions was recovered inside it. The ASI immediately informed CISF, which looks after the security of the monument. CISF further informed the local police about the recovery,” said a senior police official.
“The entire area has been cordoned off and evacuated as a precautionary measure,” said Jatin Narwal, deputy commissioner of police (North).
Following the recovery and proper disposal of the explosives and ammunitions, the National Security Guard (NSG) was also informed. A bomb disposal squad of NSG reached Red Fort on Monday and conducted a drill to defuse the recovered explosives.
“The NSG team took away all of the ammunitions and explosives from Red Fort with the help of an unmanned robotic vehicle, which was covered with a ‘bomb blanket’ to avert any accidental blast, to an undisclosed location to defuse the live explosives and ammunitions,” said a senior police official.
“Five mortars and 44 live rounds were recovered from the well around 5 pm. There were 87 fired rounds that were also found,” an NSG official said.
It is suspected to be government ammunition but the matter is being looked into. The cleaning of other wells inside the monument has been ordered under the strict surveillance of security personnel.
A probe is underway to find out the source of the explosives and ammunitions recovered.