Kathua (Jammu and Kashmir): A suspected explosive was recovered near a bridge connecting Kathua and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday Jan 30, creating panic among the locals in the area, sources said. It is learnt that the explosive was spotted near the bridge along the Kathua and Samba district border.
As soon as the police received information about the suspected explosive, a joint team of District Police of both the districts along with the Bomb Disposal Squad of the security forces rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. The nature of the suspected explosive was not immediately known. It was not clear whether the material was an Improvised Explosive Device or any other explosive substance.
The spotting of the suspected explosive comes a day after the security forces on Tuesday recovered ammunition near a bridge on Jammu-Pathankot national highway. As soon as the ammunition was recovered in the area, the authorities diverted the vehicular traffic as a precautionary measure. The explosives were found near a bridge in Sherpur area on the national highway.
The recovery of the explosive along the Kathua-Samba border area comes nearly two weeks after the security forces claimed to have found a cross-border tunnel in Samba district. It can be recalled that the tunnel was found near the border area of Gagwal in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir on Jan 18. As soon as the tunnel came to light, security forces had launched a massive cordon and search operation in the area.
The tunnel was believed to have facilitated cross-border infiltration and drug and weapon smuggling by the infiltrators.
