Security stepped up in Bangalore after recovery of bomb from a bus

Security in Bangalore was put on a high alert after a crude bomb was recovered from an empty bus stationed at the City bus stand late on Thursday night.

Police said the conductor of a Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus found a suspicious object under the last seat around midnight. Soon after he brought it to the notice of the police outpost nearby, a bomb disposal squad with sniffer dogs was rushed to the spot.

After recovering the bomb, the police confirmed that it was a crude bomb, containing gelatin. The bomb, however, had no timer attached to it. The bomb was taken to an isolated spot on the outskirts of Bangalore and defused.

Though the authorities said the bomb was very rudimentary and posed no serious threat, security has been stepped up in the City. A vigil has been mounted at all the bus stations, railway stations and other sensitive places in the City.

Though there have been a spate of bomb threats and hoaxes all over the country since the serial blasts in Mumbai on July 11, the incident in Bangalore is the first one in which an explosive device was found.

It may be mentioned here that terrorists had struck at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore during December 2005, claiming the life of one scientist.