Hand grenade found in court premises

KOLKATA: Tension prevailed in the Cooch Behar district court premises after a hand grenade was found inside the malkhana. Later, a team from the Indian Army from Binnaguri on Sunday defused the hand grenade by means of a controlled explosion.

According to sources, a few staff of the court found the grenade three days ago while cleaning the malkhana. It was found inside a packet of cannabis that was seized in connection with a case. It was found that the grenade was manufactured in the gun and shell factory under the Defence Ministry.

Controversy cropped up about how a grenade which was made for the Indian Armed Forces was placed inside the packet full of cannabis. Though the bomb disposal squad was informed, the police failed to defuse the grenade as they had no expertise or any required equipment.

The grenade was kept inside the malkhana and the area was cordoned off as it could not be taken to a far-off place for defusing it. The Indian Army was approached by the Cooch Behar district civil administration to defuse the grenade.

Additional Superintendent of Police (Addl. SP) of Cooch Behar, Kumar Sunny Raj said: “The Army engineer regiment was requested to inspect and inform about the process of defusing the bomb. Initial investigation revealed that the grenade needs to be defused at the spot to evade any untoward incident. After seeking permission from the court, on Sunday around 10 am, the Indian Army team from Binnaguri arrived with precautions and defused the grenade by using a controlled explosion method.” On Sunday the Eastern Command of the Indian Army issued a statement which said: “Troops of Tri Shakti Corps, based on the request of civil administration, diffused a hand grenade at Cooch Behar.”