Detonator, bomb material found in ST bus, driver-conductor

A detonator and other material used for making crude bombs was found in a state transport (ST) bus in Raigad district of Maharashtra, following which the driver and conductor were detained, police said Thursday.

The Maharashtra Transport Department said it suspects the role of the driver and the conductor in illegally accepting the parcel that contained the detonator and crude bomb material.

The material was kept under a seat, said police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Kundan Gawde.

The conductor, while checking the bus after its last service of the day in Rasayani area Wednesday night, found some suspicious-looking objects under a seat, and alerted the local police, he said.

The police called the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), which found that there was a detonator along with electric wires, shrapnels and batteries.

Raigad Police registered a case under the Indian Explosives Act and further probe was on, API Gawde said.

Talking to PTI, Transport minister Diwakar Raote said the local police have detained the driver and the conductor in connection with the case.

"The driver and the bus conductor have been detained by the police. We suspect that they illegally accepted a parcel for money, which contained the detonator and the crude bomb material. Police are investigating the case further," he said.