'Timer was ticking': Object found in Pune hospital was IED with gelatin sticks, PCB, detonator set for 12am

PUNE: The unclaimed object found on Wednesday night under the washbasin of a washroom near the ICU of Usha Kiran Hospital in Hadapsar was an improvised explosive device (IED) and the timing of its explosion was set at 12midnight.

The Pune city police on Thursday detained 16 people, including a medical representative, for questioning after checking the CCTV footage of the hospital and surrounding areas.

All of them were released after questioning.

The Hadapsar police registered a case under sections 109 (attempted murder), 125 (rash and negligent act endangering human life or personal safety) and 288 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substances) of the BNS after the object was identified as an IED. Teams of Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and other agencies have been camping in Hadapsar.

Pune commissioner of police (CP) Amitesh Kumar said, “The IED was made of four white elongated gelatin sticks, PCB, a timer, a battery circuit, a sensor, wires and a small detonator. The timing of the explosion was set at 12midnight. The bomb did not have shrapnel. Forensic experts have collected samples. As of now, it is not known if the bomb had any explosives and if it had, what kind of explosives. We also do not know who planted the bomb in the hospital and what was the motive.”

CP Kumar said, “So far there is no indication about the likelihood of a terror angle. We are examining other theories.”

Dr Vilas Gaikwad of Usha Kiran Hospital told TOI, “We were on the daily routine round in the hospital when we spotted the bomb under the washbasin. The timer was ticking. Without panicking, I took a cardboard box and kept the bomb in it. Then my admin officer carried it out of the hospital and kept it in an open space because the timer showed long hours for the explosion. Following this, I called up the police.”

Senior police officers and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) personnel picked up the IED using robots. The BDDS later defused it through a controlled explosion at the Hadapsar Gliding Centre’s open site around 10pm.

Dr Gaikwad has been running the 50-bed Usha Kiran Hospital since 1987. He and his family members stay on its top floor.

On if he had animosity with anyone or wrongly treated someone, Dr Gaikwad said, “Some people get angry after recovering, but I don’t think anyone would place a bomb in my hospital. I don’t have any rivalry with anyone either.”