The City Police conducted a three-hour bomb neutralisation operation at Ganeshpeth bus terminus on Wednesday afternoon, suspecting a small box resembling a ‘tiffin bomb’. However, it was later confirmed in the evening that the box was, in fact, a fire extinguisher from a private company. The incident took place when a maintenance employee noticed a small box near the driver’s seat of an MSRTC bus that reached Ganeshpeth bus depot from Aheri depot the previous week due to technical snags. The news of a potential bomb spread rapidly in the city in the afternoon. According to police, the bus (MH-40/Y-5097) arrived from Aheri bus depot in Gadchiroli to Ganeshpeth station depot on February 1. After an overnight stop at the depot, the bus was parked in Ganeshpeth bus terminus premises, where repair work continued until February 6.

 

Despite informing the Gadchiroli bus depot that the bus had been repaired, the driver did not turn up to take the bus. The bus was sent to Saoner on Tuesday. Later, it was redirected to Ridhori near Butibori due to a vehicle breakdown on Wednesday morning and returned the same afternoon. During a routine inspection by an employee of the Mechanical Department, noticed a small tiffin-like box near the driver’s cabin. He immediately informed about the box to Gautam Shende, Head of Ganeshpeth Depot. Shende then alerted Ganeshpeth Police.