Mumbai:
Around 10 pm on Tuesday, the Dindoshi police received a phone call from locals living along the Western Express Highway.
A frantic voice informed them of smoke emanating from gunny bags left behind on the road opposite the Dindoshi press of a popular English daily.
They were worried the bags contained bombs, ticking to go off. Cops sprang into action. The bomb squad was alerted, a fire brigade dispatched. The police rushed to the spot, with the others in tow.
Traffic came to a standstill; commuters stirred up commotion, residents were in a state of terror, fearing an explosion. Full-fledged panic ensued for over two hours on the highway.
The unattended gunny bags were approached cautiously and examined tentatively. This is what they contained: cement.
As the tension defused, a cop told MiD DAY, "An unidentified tempo had dropped the sacks on the road, and they began emitting smoke.
We have sent them for forensic tests, however it has been confirmed that they contain only cement."
So why the smoke? "There is an ingredient used to harden cement.
When it comes in contact with water, it starts emitting smoke. Since it was raining last night, the gunny bags started giving off smoke," explained an officer from the Dindoshi police station.
"Since we do not know the number of the tempo that dropped the cement off, we cannot nab the driver.
We have, however, contacted the RTO and nearby construction sites to trace the vehicle," said Senior PI Vinayak Kakde of Dindoshi police station.
Said an eyewitness who was commuting to Borivli, "There was a huge jam until someone informed the police. But they found that it was just cement.
The traffic returned to its usual pace after being stalled for over two hours."