GUWAHATI, Aug 18 - A packed �ticking� device detected among a heap of parcels in the Guwahati Railway Station today created a flutter in the city, until it was discovered late in the evening that the 10-kg packet contained a battery-operated spraying machine used for agriculture purposes.
The packet was �detonated� by security personnel at the Rani Firing Range, using a counter explosive.
The incident raised questions on the expertise of the State�s bomb disposal squad which failed to detect the device. �After a home guard heard the ticking inside the parcel, he alerted the GRP. Senior officials soon rushed to the spot. To ensure public safety, it was immediately taken to Rani by the bomb disposal squad,� a senior police official said. DCP (central) Ranjan Bhuyan told The Assam Tribune that it emerged during follow-up investigations that the �ticking� device was a battery operated agriculture spraying machine.
�It was sent by Veda Enterprise of Ahmednagar in Maharashtra and to be delivered in Aizawl via Silchar. We have spoken to the post master general of Ahmednagar and he confirmed it. The parts we found from the place where the device was exploded also corroborated it,� Bhuyan said.
The packet had arrived at Meghdoot Bhavan on August 9 last and was there till August 17.
