BENGALURU: BENGALURU: Just 30 minutes before Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the Art of Living Centre on the outskirts of the city on Sunday, the police recovered two gelatine sticks in a cover placed close to his convoy route.
Earlier in the morning, the Koramangala police received a threat call on the VVIP movement. But the recovery of gelatine sticks and the threat call were not linked.
Modi was visiting HAL and the Art of Living in Bengaluru and Bengaluru South district, and both events concluded without any untoward incidents.
A police constable, identified as Jagadeesh, and the Anti-Sabotage Check Team noticed the gelatine sticks around 10.30 am near Vaderahalli Gate.
The team was conducting security checks as part of the Prime Minister’s programme at AoL, which was scheduled at 11 am.
Bengaluru South district Superintendent of Police R Srinivas Gowda said the gelatine sticks, packed in a cover, were found about 1 km away from the NICE Road junction, nearly 20 feet away from the road on a compound wall.
The police constable, who was deployed along the PM’s convoy route, got suspicious of the cover and alerted senior officers, who rushed to the spot and recovered the gelatine sticks. No arrests have been made so far, the SP said.
DIG, Central Range, S Girish, who also visited the spot, told reporters that the investigation is underway to ascertain who placed the gelatine sticks and how the explosive material was brought to the spot.
The Kaggalipura police registered a case against an unknown person under the Explosives Act, and special teams have been formed under Ramanagara DySP Srinivas to investigate the case.
Man detained for hoax call
A senior police officer said the Koramangala police received an anonymous threat call around 7 am, claiming that there will be blasts at places where PM Modi will be visiting.
Swinging into action, the Koramangala police detained a man identified as Lohith (40), who is reportedly mentally unsound and had previously made similar threat calls during VIP visits to the city.
A senior police officer said there was no connection between the threat call and the recovery of gelatine sticks.
