An abandoned mortar shell was found outside a DDA park at Vasant Kunj (North) in South Delhi on Saturday morning. The discovery sent the local police and the residents into a spin with police cordoning off the locality and calling a team from the National Security Guards (NSG) for diffusing it.
On spotting the mortar shell, the locals informed police, who reached the place and cordoned off the entire area.
"A PCR call was received around 8.30 am regarding the finding of the mortar shell near the park Machliwala, Samadhi Van village, Kishan Garh, in Vasant Kunj (North). The entire area was cordoned off and evacuated as a precautionary measure," said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, South district, Chinmoy Biswal.
The NSG has been requested to send a team for carrying out necessary drill to diffuse the shell, the Biswal said.
Police said the old and corroded shell that was covered with rust has been covered with a "bomb blanket" to avert any accidental blast.
"later, the BDS team of NSG, using sophisticated ROV (robot) machine carefully picked the unexploded explosive ordinance, referred to as UXO in technical language," said the police official". They placed the shell into a TCV (total containment vessel) to be carried to Manesar where it will be disposed off following standard protocols," the official added.
From visual inspection, the UXO appears to be foreign- made with fuse intact but of old vintage, said the official.
"A case under section 4 of the explosive substance Act 1908 has been registered at the Vasant Kunj (N) police station. More details about the mortar can only be known after full technical investigations," Biswal said, adding that an UXO may not explode even during disposal as it may have lost its potency.