Three bombs found in Punjab village

MOHALI - Workers levelling a piece of land in a Punjab village discovered three live bombs buried under the earth for many years, police said here Wednesday.

According to the police, two bombs weighed five kilograms each and the third one-and-a-half kilograms. The bombs were covered with sacks of sand. Indian Army officials were called for assistance.

“This land belongs to an NRI, Bhupinder Singh, and the levelling work was being superved by caretaker Gurnam Singh. The army bomb disposal squad has taken the bombs to defuse them,” police officer Lakhwinder Singh said.

He added: “This land was once the property of the Indian Army. There is a strong probability that the bombs date back to 1971. Although very old, experts said they can still cause huge destruction if they explode.”

Villagers said that in the past too many grenades and bombs had been found in the area.

Villager Gurbax Brar said: “In one incident a few labourers lost their lives when a bomb accidentally exploded. The district administration have done nothing.”