Pipe bomb with timer device found in Madurai

The Madurai city police recovered a parcel containing a pipe bomb with a timer device in a shop on East Veli Street on Tuesday night.

The police said that a half-foot PVC pipe with chemicals, wires and a switch and timer were found in a carton box left in the beeda stall. However, the circuit was not switched on, the police said.

A young man, who had come to the stall at Nelpettai, asked for 10

beedas from Mansoor, the stall owner. Later, the stranger asked Mansoor about the location of the nearest ATM. When the salesman directed him to the ATM, the stranger requested him to keep the box kept in a carry bag in his shop till he returned.

However, the stranger, who left the place at around 6 p.m., never returned, police sources said.

At around 10.30 p.m., Mansoor’s elder brother and owner of the stall, Farid Khan, who came to the shop, opened the box to find the bomb and he alerted the police. The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad defused it. Persons who have knowledge about the bomb could inform the police at 94458-19721; 83000-03368 and 94981-79727.

Police Commissioner says it looks similar to bombs recovered in the city in recent times