Police today said it may take “some more time” to ascertain who left cartridges at Ferozeshah Kotla stadium, that were found barely two hours prior to the start of the cricket match between India and Australia.
However, police emphasised there was “no security issue” involved in the recovery of seven cartridges from the second-floor bathroom of the stadium on Saturday.
A senior Delhi Police official said investigators believe that a member of the security personnel “accidentally” kept the cartridges in the rest room and forgot to take when he left.
Asked whether they had identified the person involved if that is the case, the official said, “it will take time. The personnel may be a little cautious and he may not be forthcoming right now. But we will ascertain it.”
“The personnel could be of the Delhi Police’s Armed Police or of any of the paramilitary force deployed at the stadium. But at this point of time, we are not going to speculate,” he said.
The official said they have already registered a case under Arms Act.
He also dismissed suggestions that it could be a security drill saying, “If it was a drill, we would have come to know about it later. We have registered a case and this itself shows that we are serious about the matter.”
The official, however, said they were investigating the matter with an “open mind” as they are also looking into if any private person had brought the cartridges inside the stadium.
“We are not ruling out anything. We are probing all angles,” the official said.
Police have asked authorities to provide a list of people who work in the stadium and also about those who have access inside. No arrest has been made so far in connection with the case.
The cartridges wrapped in paper were retrieved by the personnel of bomb detection squad and dog squad around 12:30 pm, two hours before the start of the match on Saturday.
The matter was kept secret as it could have created panic among people on the day of the match.
