KOLLAM: An improvised explosive device (IED) went off on the premises of the Kollam Collectorate on Wednesday, leaving one person with minor injuries. The injured has been identified as Sabu, 60, of Neerozhikkal, Perayam, here.
According to eyewitnesses, the minor explosion with high-decibel sound occurred around 10.50 am in a stationary jeep parked in front of the Pension Payment Sub Treasury Office. The jeep, belonging to the Labour Department, was awaiting auction and was only moved from the parking shed on June 10. The police officials said that the IED placed in a steel tiffin carrier was placed near the back wheel of the jeep and in the impact of the explosion some pieces of steel as well as stones flew to the adjacent offices and one of these pieces might have injured Sabu.
“The jeep, KL 01 G 603, has been here for the past one year. As we were allotted a new vehicle, the jeep was kept in the parking lot. Later, we moved it to the present spot near a rain tree. The paperwork for auctioning the vehicle is almost complete,” said T Soudamini, Deputy Labour Officer.
Meanwhile, the injured Sabu, a District Congress Committee executive committee member and former vice-president of the Perayam grama panchayat, said that had the explosion taken place once the Munsiff Court convened, the number of injured might have gone up. “I was at the Collectorate in connection with a case I had filed with the Munsiff Court. As I was coming out from the Court Office, I heard an explosion-like noise and immediately I was hit by an object. I was injured in the glabella and was rushed to the District Hospital with heavy bleeding,” he said. Immediately after the incident, the area was cordoned off and the Bomb Detection Squad, Dog Squad and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) officials arrived. The FSL team headed by Molly George, Assistant Director (Explosives), collected evidence from the spot for scientific examination. The blast spot was also examined by Thiruvananthapuram Range IG Manoj Abraham.