- Six police personnel suspended over dereliction of duty charges.
- Gelatin sticks and timer found near PM Modi’s route.
- Forensic report indicates no immediate security threat existed.
- Investigation ongoing with NIA and IB teams involved.
Six police personnel have been suspended in connection with the recovery of gelatin sticks near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s route during his Bengaluru visit earlier this month, officials said.
The action was taken on the orders of Bengaluru South (Ramnagar) Superintendent of Police R Srinivas Gowda following allegations of dereliction of duty linked to the security arrangements for the Prime Minister’s visit on May 10.
Those suspended include a sub-inspector, an assistant sub-inspector and four constables. The officers will remain under suspension until the inquiry into the incident is completed.
Explosives Found Near PM’s Route
The suspension comes nearly two weeks after explosive materials were discovered near Kuppareddy Kere on the outskirts of Bengaluru, around 2 km from the Art of Living (AOL) Foundation centre, which Prime Minister Modi was scheduled to visit.
According to police, the suspicious carton box was found around 25 feet away from the main road along the Prime Minister’s convoy route.
A police constable reportedly noticed the box nearly one-and-a-half hours before the PM’s convoy was expected to pass through the area.
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Box Contained Gelatin Sticks and Electronic Components
Investigators later found that the box contained two gelatin sticks along with matchsticks, camphor, batteries, wires, a real-time clock and an LCD display.
Initially, police had stated that only two gelatin sticks and a matchbox were recovered from the spot. However, additional details emerged after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) examined the case.
Teams were subsequently sent to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring districts in Karnataka as part of the investigation. Officials from the NIA and Intelligence Bureau (IB) also visited the location and collected evidence.
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Forensic Report Says No Immediate Threat
Police are yet to make a major breakthrough in the case.
According to the forensic laboratory report submitted to investigators, the recovered explosives did not pose an immediate threat. The report stated that the gelatin sticks were nearly three years old, the timer device was non-functional and no detonator was found inside the box.
Despite the findings, the incident raised serious concerns over security arrangements during the Prime Minister’s visit, prompting disciplinary action against the police personnel involved in the route security deployment.
