1 cop killed while defusing bombs in Puri

A policeman was killed and four others including two civilians were injured while defusing bombs seized from a village in Odisha's Puri district.

The victim was identified as Ranjan Kumar Sarangi, a constable in the district bomb disposal squad. Other seriously injured persons were rushed to the district headquarter hospital, said Anup Kumar Sahu, superintendent of police, Puri.

Earlier in the day, following a tip off, the district police had seized 53 crude bombs and 12 detonators from an abandoned hut in Gambhari village at the bank of Chilika Lake.

The seized explosive materials were shifted to Brahmagiri police station with help of the bomb disposal squad.

"However, one of the bombs went off despite keeping it inside water for several hours," the SP said adding that no one was arrested on charge of storing the explosive materials.

Gambhari village had witnessed a group clash following panchayat polls in March where about 50 houses were gutted. Police suspected that the explosives were stored in the village for creating further disturbance.