NAGPUR: Personnel at the Nandanvan police station in Nagpur in Maharashtra were left shocked when a young man walked into the premises with a bag which he said contained a “bomb” he had found abandoned near a college.
However, a brief questioning on Saturday evening revealed that the 25-year-old, identified as Rahul Pagade, had himself prepared the explosive using a petrol bottle and a battery by watching online tutorials, officials said on Sunday.
An officer ruled out any terror angle and said Pagade had no intention to plant the explosive or to harm anybody.
Pagade works in a salon and lives alone in a rented house in Saibaba Nagar in the city.
His parents had died.
All his three sisters are married.
“Pagade told us that he learnt bomb-making after watching tutorials and decided to do it himself.
He extracted flash powder from firecrackers and used a mobile battery and a petrol bottle to make the makeshift bomb.
He connected the wires from the battery to the petrol bottle,” the officer said.
However, he developed cold feet and decided to get rid of the explosive.
He disconnected wires and walked up to the police station where he handed over the bag to the police at 5 pm on Saturday.
“He told the police that he found the bag containing the bomb abandoned near KDK college.
However, the police suspected his statement and interrogated him.
Finally, he confessed to making the explosive himself.
Pagade said as he panicked and didn’t understand what to do with the explosive, he walked to the police station with the hope to defuse the bomb,” the officer said.
A case was registered against Pagade under the Arms Act and section 123 of the Mumbai Police Act.