Jaisalmer:
A mysterious bomb-like object was found in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer on Friday morning, hours after sounds of massive explosions echoed through the city amid a wave of missile and drone strikes targeting military installations by Pakistan in the state.
Panic spread among villagers in Kishan Ghat after they found the object outside their houses, prompting the authorities to step in.
“We could hear the siren all night. Around 9pm, all we could see were sparks and objects falling from the sky. We heard a loud sound that appeared to have come from outside the house but were too scared to leave. As we came out of our house this morning, we found this bomb-like object,” Chandan, a villager, said.
Chandan’s neighbour, Mukesh, said the villagers immediately alerted the police, who in return informed the army. “The army men arrived 30 minutes later. They cordoned off the area and asked us not to touch it,” Mukesh said.
Women raised concerns over such missile and drone strikes, saying children often tend to get tempted to touch such bomb-like objects out of curiosity.
“Some children were eating dinner and some were playing outside when the strikes took place. They got scared. We had to get them inside the house. Later, they got too curious about the bomb-like object. We had to tell them not to touch it,” one of them said.
As the police cordoned off the area, a bomb disposal squad arrived at the spot around 11am to tackle the object.
“We were informed about a bomb-like object. We are yet to ascertain what it is. We have informed the army and a bomb disposal squad is also on the way,” Kotwali Station House Officer (SHO) Premdan Ratnu said.
Sounds of massive explosions rocked Jaisalmer and a blackout was enforced in western Rajasthan districts bordering Pakistan, plunging the whole stretch into darkness, in the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, after the neighbouring country made a second attempt to target military infrastructure in Pakistan, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir through drones and missiles.
The administrations of the state’s border districts also sounded a red alert with blackouts in several cities.
India swiftly thwarted Pakistan’s bids after foiling similar attempts at 15 places in northern and western regions of the country. The force is on high alert in the wake of the current hostilities between the two countries following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people and India’s strike on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation.
