THIRUVANATHAPURAM: In a suspected case of playing the 'April fool' prank, a suspicious object that produced a beep sound gave the city police and a section of city residents anxious moments on Friday morning.
Local people had spotted the object, later identified as a flask with a battery and a digital timer, on a vacant land adjacent to the railway track at Pappanamcode. A beep sound continuously emanated from it, and the locals concluded that it was a 'time bomb.' On being alerted by the people, a team of senior police officers, including two Deputy Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners, rushed to the spot. So did the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad of the Police Department.
On preliminary examination, it was found that the flask contained a timer device connected to a battery. On overhearing the officers discussing this, the local people believed that there was a time bomb inside the flask. By that time a group of journalists both from the print and electronic media also arrived at the spot.
However, on further examination by the bomb squad personnel, it was found that no explosives were present in the 'timer bomb' and that it was a mere timer connected to a battery. In order to allay the concerns of the local people, the bomb squad disposed the object by exploding it.Though the suspected object was not a bomb, the city police have registered a case for creating a scare. "I have directed the Nemom police to register a case and find out the source of the suspicious material. Though it was not an explosive, by planting such an object a scare was created among the public. Creating scare can attract punishment," City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham told this paper.