A massive explosion ripped apart the Balanga police station in Puri district late on Monday night. Fortunately, no one was hurt as almost all police personnel had left for election duty in Pipili.
As per sources, a large cache of explosives kept in the Malkhana of the police station building reportedly went off triggering the blast.
The explosion was so powerful that the entire office building was reduced to rubbles while almost all the office equipments and the mobile tower were completely destroyed. Sources said the sentry of the Malkhana had a narrow escape as he rushed out of building before explosion brought the roof of the building down. The blast triggered panic in the area as locals rushed out of their houses fearing any mishap. Puri Superintendent of Police Kanwar Vishal Singh and other senior official immediately rushed to the spot. Meanwhile, exact circumstances believed to have triggered explosion were being investigated.Central Range IG Narasingha Bhol also took stock of blast on Tuesday. Puri Additional SP P Pradhan has been assigned to investigate incident and submit a report. A forensic team and a bomb disposal squad were also roped in for probe."If any police personnel are found responsible for incident, stringent action will be taken against culprits. Investigation is required to find out what led to explosion," said Bhol. Following the blast, all police stations have been directed to either defuse seized explosives or store those in a safe place to avoid such an incident, he said. The police station would now run from a temporary building; and very soon, fund would be sought to construct a new building for PS, he added.