Serial blasts, live bombs, panic, chaos. Bengaluru has been seeing this and more over the last few days. And through it all, keeping their composure and working round-the-clock is a band of men.
Bomb detection squad members across the country are in the thick of it all and have been kept busy by the incessant terror attacks. Offering an insight into how they work is a senior member of the Karnataka squad.
Explains Murthy (name changed): "We have to be on our toes all the time. I do agree that most of the time we are attending to hoax calls, but the thing is we cannot afford to take any chances. Moreover, our work does not involve any timing, we could be summoned at any part of the day or night."
Once the squad gets a tip-off about a bomb, the team leaves immediately for the spot along with the dog squad. "The sniffer dogs nose out the bomb and we carry certain equipment to defuse the bomb. We use a portable x-ray machine to first check the contents of the object. Later a stethoscope is used to check its ticking. Then we cover the bomb with a blanket made from special fibre, which would limit the effect of the explosion. We then use a trolley to move the bomb to an open area."
Image: The bomb detection squad defused a live bomb near Forum Mall in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Photograph: KPN Photos
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