Kolkata: A mortar, apparently belonging to the Pakistani Army used during the Liberation War that gave birth to Bangladesh in 1971, was found buried underground 53 years later in a northern district of West Bengal.
The ammunition was unearthed at a field in Dinhata of Cooch Behar on Wednesday morning. Sub divisional police officer (Dinhata) Biman Mitra said that a group of labourers was digging up the ground for construction work at Jhikri under Choudhurihat gram panchayat.
Suddenly one of them shouted ‘bomb, bomb’ after his spade hit the mortar, generating a metallic sound. Police were informed. The location is close to the India-Bangladesh border. The Border Security Force jawans also inspected the spot.Later the bomb disposal squad of the Indian Army was called in from Binnaguri for the recovery of the ammunition on which ‘Pakistan’ was written. The Army later disposed of the mortar, Mr Mitra added.
It is suspected that the ammunition did not explode and got buried underground somehow during the war.