There was tension and panic near the Chinnaswamy Stadium before the Indian Premier League (IPL) game on Sunday after a gunny bag was mistaken for a bomb.
Cricket fans, who were waiting in line outside the stadium, panicked on seeing an abandoned gunny bag near the bus stop adjoining the venue.
They alerted the police, who cordoned off the area. A team of anti-sabotage personnel rushed to the spot. After a detailed examination, they declared that the area is safe.
According to the police, the bag contained soiled clothes, a bed sheet, few plastic and waste material, which was perhaps collected by a ragpicker and left on the kerb.
The match was sold out and police were expecting over 35,000 fans. They had made elaborate security arrangements and sanitized the area on Saturday night. As many as 1,100 personnel had been deployed in and around the stadium.
Police are not taking any chances, particularly after two bombs exploded near the stadium in April 2010 during the IPL. Fifteen persons were injured. A third bomb was found and defused.
