Dehra Dun:
Just two days ahead of the first royal bath of Maha Kumbh Mela, police on Wednesday arrested two men in connection with the recovery of a bomb at Haridwar railway station.
Manish Kumar Das and Chandan Pradhan, both natives of Orissa's Sonpur district, were arrested from their house at Bahadarbad area in Haridwar, Garhwal range IGP M A Ganapathy said, adding that about 1.5 kg of nitrate-based explosives and nine detonators were also recovered from their possession.
During interrogation, the duo, working as skilled labourers in a pipe manufacturing factory at Haridwar, has confessed to place the bomb at the railway station, he said.
The accused had brought the explosive material from Orissa, the IGP said.
However, the motive behind placing the bomb at the railway station is yet to be known, he added.
A bag containing a bomb along with a detonator, timing device and some nitrate-based explosive material was detected at Haridwar railway station on February 2. The bomb was later defused by the bomb disposal squad.
After registering a case against some unidentified persons, police began investigations on the basis of two papers recovered from the bag. While one paper mentioned the name of the factory, another contained a curriculum vitae of a girl from Haridwar, the IGP said.