Srinagar, Feb 20: Security agencies recovered and defused two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir on Friday, triggering heightened alert across northern India following intelligence inputs about a possible Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror plot targeting the national capital.
In Punjab, a suspected IED was found inside an unattended bag near the Rayya police post in Amritsar. Police immediately cordoned off the area and alerted the bomb disposal squad, which later confirmed and neutralised the device.
“A suspicious bag was noticed near the police chowk. The bomb disposal squad was immediately alerted and, after examination, confirmed it was an IED. It was then defused as per standard operating procedures,” Amritsar Senior Superintendent of Police Sohail Qasim Mir said.
On the same day, another IED was detected in the Safapora area of Ganderbal district in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army’s bomb detection squad destroyed the explosive device within hours. Officials said this was the third such recovery in North Kashmir within a week.
The recoveries come amid specific intelligence warnings of a possible LeT conspiracy targeting religious and tourist locations in Delhi. Intelligence inputs indicated potential threats to key sites, including a temple in Chandni Chowk and areas around the Red Fort.
Authorities, however, said no direct link has been established between the recovered IEDs and the terror plot warning.
Following the alert, security has been intensified across major markets, religious places and heritage sites in Delhi, with increased deployment of personnel, vehicle checks and anti-sabotage operations underway.
Security agencies are maintaining heightened vigilance and continuing surveillance to prevent any potential terror threat, officials said.
