The Tamil Nadu Bomb Squad has identified the explosive found outside the house of Union Minister of State for the Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayanasamy. It contained Gelx, a commercial explosive. The pipe bomb was also found to contain 21 electrical detonators and 12 non-electrical detonators and weighed 5.2 kg.
According to sources, the explosive, if it had detonated outside the house, could have caused serious damage up to 600m from the place of explosion. This is the first time that such a bomb has been used in the Union Territory.
On Wednesday morning, the staff in Mr. Narayanasamy’s house noticed a cylindrical device under his son’s private car. The driver then alerted the Union Minister’s personal secretary and police was called in. The Puducherry bomb squad then recovered the device and took it to the port ground in Uppalam to detonate it.
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The bomb squad, led by Ramachandran, was called in from Chennai to analyse the explosive device. The Tamil Nadu team, which arrived in the evening, identified it as being a high powered explosive, sources said.
Personal Secretary to Mr. Narayanasamy Jaga Jyothi told The Hindu that the Union Minister’s staff arrived for duty at 7 a.m. and noticed the cylindrical object . Nobody suspected it to be a bomb, as it was unheard of in Puducherry. Minister’s personal assistant was then called in and he called Mr. Jega Jyothi who then called the police.
The bomb squad arrived on the scene at 9.15 and the bomb was taken away for detonation. Fortunately, neither the Union Minister nor his family members were in town at the time. Mr. Narayanasamy was expected to arrive in Puducherry on Wednesday, but had cancelled his trip because of work, he said.
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Puducherry Congress Committee cadre staged a dharna on Anna Salai demanding better law and order situation in the Union Territory. Several shops were closed.
Security around Mr. Narayanasamy’s house has been intensified. Unfortunately, there were no CCTV cameras in the area so the police are using other means to identify the culprit and would be working round the clock, Director-General of Police P. Kamaraj said.
The Union Minister’s staff have decided to increase security in his house and office. CCTV cameras will be installed around the house and in his office at Kamban Kalaiarangam.
“Earlier, the security was a little lax since Mr. Narayanasamy had an open door policy for all visitors in Puducherry. All visitors to his chambers will henceforth be screened and his schedule will not be disclosed,” Mr. Jega Jyothi said. The Puducherry Congress Committee has called for a bandh on February 1 demanding better law and order .