Semi-finished bomb found in Tamil Nadu town

A 'sophisticated' semi-finished low-intesity bomb, hidden under the staircase of a liquor outlet, has been recovered by police in Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu. On a tip-off by the supervisor of the TASMAC outlet that an abandoned cloth bag with suspicious objects was found under the staircase, police rushed to the spot and took possession of it around midnight on Thursday, police said on Friday.

District Superintendent of Police Ashwin Mukund Kotnis said four special teams have been formed to nab the culprits who had kept the bomb, which appeared similar to the one used in the killing of local civic body chief in 2007.

Bomb squad personnel said they found a semi-finished pipe bomb with a timer device in the bag. But the explosive chemicals were not so powerful to cause "heavy damage", Bomb Squad Inspector Gunasekaran said.

"There are two types of bombs..One using mobile phone for remote operation..and another using table clock... this is the second type..and is very advanced," he said.

Police suspect possible role of two persons, including one Balan, an ex-convict in the killing of Sivanganga Municipality Chairman P. Murugan of DMK, who died when a powerful bomb planted in his car exploded.

"This bomb (recovered now) is similar to that one," a police official said adding they were looking for Balan, an electronics diploma holder who allegedly made the bomb in 2007, and his associate, also an electronics engineer.

Incidentally, the wife of the engineer had filed complaint with police a couple of days ago stating that her husband was missing, police said.