Five pipe bombs found in Sree Padmanabha temple

Five suspected pipe bombs were found packed in gunny bags in a pond of the famed Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple here, police said on Sunday.

The temple drew international attention a few years ago after it was learnt that it holds a treasure estimated to be over one lakh crore, stacked in five vaults.

The suspected pipe bombs were found on Sunday afternoon by some workers while cleaning the pond, about 100 metres from the main temple.

Police's bomb and dog squads were immediately summoned as Director General of Police K.S. Balasubramanian ordered a high-level probe into the incident.

One of the five pipe bombs was emitting smoke and small sounds could be heard, police said, adding, however, that it could be happening because they remained in the water for long and then were taken out.

Police packed all the five pipe bombs and were due to take these to an isolated place to defuse them. Steps have also begun for their forensic examination.

The Kerala government recently sanctioned funds for cleaning the ponds that are associated with the famed temple.

Incidentally, when the pond was being cleaned on Sunday, a secret door, believed to be linked to the main temple, was also found in the pond.

Ever since the supreme court ordered for stock taking of the priceless treasures kept in the vaults in 2011, the security of the temple has been beefed up and the complex has been declared a highly sensitive area.

The entire area is under CCTV coverage.