STF Seizes Chinese-Made Grenade Hidden in Car on Shahabad-Ladwa Road

A major security scare was averted in Haryana after a hand grenade was recovered from a car parked near the Sugar Mill area on the Shahabad-Ladwa road, police said on Wednesday. The recovery was made following the disclosure of a suspected gangster-linked accused arrested recently by the Special Task Force (STF).

Teams from the STF Ambala unit and the bomb disposal squad rushed to the spot and launched a search and containment operation after receiving information during the interrogation of the accused, identified as Surya Pratap , a resident of Tangore village.

Police said Surya Pratap was arrested two days earlier, and a pistol along with two live cartridges was recovered from his possession. During police remand, he allegedly revealed that he had concealed a hand grenade inside a car parked in his motor yard on the Shahabad-Ladwa road.

Acting on the disclosure, STF officials took the accused to the location, where the grenade was recovered from the dashboard of the vehicle. Following the recovery, police evacuated the surrounding area and restricted movement as a precautionary measure. The bomb disposal squad later secured the explosive device safely.

STF Ambala unit sub-inspector Daljit Singh said preliminary investigation suggests the accused and his associates were allegedly planning to carry out a blast linked to an extortion case. During interrogation, the accused reportedly admitted that they had demanded extortion money from a person and intended to target him after receiving further instructions.

Officials said two hand grenades had allegedly been delivered to the accused. While one grenade was reportedly taken away earlier by one of his associates, the second remained hidden inside the car.

Investigators suspect the accused was acting on directions from foreign-based handlers. Preliminary findings also indicate that the recovered grenade was of Chinese make .

Security agencies are now probing the source of the explosive device and attempting to identify others involved in the alleged conspiracy.