Mumbai: Blast heard near Dahisar mall; metal pieces scattered on road

Cops inspecting the site of the explosion near Thakur Mall. Pic/Hanif Patel

A low-intensity blast was heard on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway around 10 am on Wednesday, near Dahisar's Thakur mall. As the traffic signal near the mall turned green, bikers began crossing the junction towards Mumbai when they heard an explosion and saw smoke emitting from the source of the sound. A biker soon found broken pieces of plastic and some ball bearings near the road divider and immediately informed the police.

The Kashimira Police rushed to the spot and informed other agencies - Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad, Anti-Terrorism Squad, Anti-Terrorism Cell and the local crime branch - who reached the spot with a forensic team and began investigation.

Some broken pieces of plastic were recovered from the location

Investigation underway
The material found at the spot was broken pieces of a plastic ball-like object, ball bearings and a metal nozzle-like item used as a lamp wick. "We have seized all the material and sent them for forensic tests. It was a low-intensity blast and the material used in it has not been revealed yet. No one has been injured in the incident except the complainant whose shirt was slightly burnt because of a spark from the blast," the police said.

Amar Ghule, a Thane resident travelling to Mumbai with his friend, informed the police of the incident. "As the traffic signal turned green, all the bikers began moving forward when we suddenly heard the explosion and saw the smoke," Ghule told the police.

"Such low-intensity blasts might sometimes be used for fishing," an officer of the Kashimira police station said. "As per primary investigation, it was a very small device incapable of injuring anyone. Investigation about the accused and his motives is going on," said senior inspector Vaibhav Shingare of Kashimira police station, where a case under the Explosive Substances Act has been registered.

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