On a sunny morning, 27 years ago, an explosion could have killed policemen inside the Anna Salai police station in Chennai. What saved them was the bomb’s faulty timer device.
This incident that took place in Tamil Nadu on February 25 in 1998 is worth recalling in light of the accidental blast of seized explosives at the Nowgam police station in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, this Children’s Day, which led to death of nine persons and left 32 others injured.
It was a busy morning. Scores of men and women were waiting to board buses at the TVS bus stop on the arterial Anna Salai (Mount Road), one of the busiest commute point in the State capital. Someone noticed an unclaimed bag at the bus stop opposite the Spencer Plaza, a popular hangout in those days. Since a serial bomb explosion had taken place in Coimbatore only 11 days earlier, people panicked at the sight of the bag.
When a car bomb was dismantled after four tense days in Tamil Nadu
A police constable who arrived at the spot casually picked up the bag and took it to the Anna Salai police station, located just yards away. He placed it on a table inside the station and informed senior officers.
