Pathankot, May 26: Nine used rocket launcher shells found from the bushes near the Pathankot Cantonment railway station created a scare in the city following which the cops called in GRP personnel to remove them.
Initially, there were rumours that some live bombs had been found. However, SSP Vivek Sheel Soni dispelled the rumours by holding an impromptu press conference in which he clarified that “the shells which were found from near the rail track were used ones”.
In army parlance they are known as ‘Training Practice Tracers’.
Army and other paramilitary forces often train their personnel in the area in the use of rocket launchers. The ‘empties’, as the used shells are called, are then collected and handed over to junk dealers.
It was a late night phone call to the SSP which alerted the cops.
The GRP was immediately informed and efforts were on to call in army experts but once it became clear that the shells were indeed ‘empties’, the army was asked to wait.
“My personnel and those of the GRP reached there in large numbers after we received a call on Friday night. Since we were not in a position to take risk in light of the infiltrations from across the border, which is nearby, we sealed all important installations like the ammunition dump, Mamun cantonment and the Air Force base. Searches near the bus stand and the railway station were intensified. However, the need to divert or stop rail traffic did not arise,” said SSP Soni.
On January 2, 2016, four militants had laid siege to the Air Force station. The terrorists were killed after a 24-hour gun battle. On July 27, 2015, 5.2 kg of RDX was found on the railway track near Dinanagar, 20 km from Pathankot.
An officer claimed that since a part of Pathankot district is near the border, they took no chances.
“Whenever such shells are found it is imperative on our part to launch an investigation to know how and from where these shells came,” he said.
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