Mortar shell found in South Delhi park, disposed off

New Delhi, Jan 28 (IANS) Delhi Police on Saturday recovered a corroded mortar shell from a park here, leading to immediate evacuation of the area. A National Security Guard team later defused the shell, a police officer said.

The shell was found lying abandoned near a rubbish dump at a Delhi Development Authority park in Kishangarh in South Delhi.

The police said they received a call from locals at around 8.30 a.m. about a suspicious object lying in the park.

A police official identified the object as a mortar shell and the area was cordoned off.

"The area was evacuated as a precautionary measure as per procedure. An NSG team was called for transporting and defusing the mortar shell," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Chinmoy Biswal said.

Meanwhile, as an interim measure, the shell which appeared old and corroded, was secured by a bomb blanket sourced from the NSG Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), Biswal added.

"The BDS team of NSG using sophisticated ROV (robot) machine carefully picked the unexploded explosive ordinance (UXO) and placed it in TCV (total containment vessel) to be carried to Manesar in Gurugram, where it was later disposed off following standard protocols," Biswal said.

"The UXO appeared to be foreign made with fuse intact but of old vintage. We are investigating how it came to be in the park," the officer said.