An improvised explosive device (IED) was recovered from an auto-rickshaw at a village in Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh, where an annual tribal festival was on, police said on Wednesday.
The IED was kept inside an unclaimed bag in the auto-rickshaw and its driver found it on Tuesday evening, Alirajpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Vipul Shrivastava said.
"After dropping some passengers at Gola Pallavi village, located under Batakhgarh police station limits and around 48 kms from the district headquarters, the rickshaw driver found the bag left behind in the vehicle," he said.
The driver tried to trace the owner of the bag. However, after finding the device inside it, he approached the police, the SP said.
The rickshaw was carrying passengers to the Batakhgarh Bhagoria fest. After the recovery of the IED, a bomb disposal squad was called from Indore, police said.
"The team confirmed that it is an IED, which included a timer, a gelatin stick and a detonator. The team later defused the device," Shrivastava said.
A case was registered and further investigation was underway, he said.