'Ragpickers' mistakenly pick unexploded bombs as scraps: Army

Clarifying the incidents of bomb explosion in civilian area, Army today said that people enter firing ranges without permission and pick unexploded bombs mistaking them as scrap which gets detonated when they try to remove the metal on it.
Entry of civilians is restricted in firing ranges and warning boards are also in place but this is for the local police to implement the order, Defence Spokesperson Lt. Col. Manish Ojha said here.
"The Army follows proper procedure to maintain a record of ammunition and disposes unexploded bombs after firing exercise," he said.
Last year in June and July, the Army searched live bombs in Pokran Chandmari range and diffused those. Apart from this, whenever the civil administration seeks assistance, Army teams diffuse bombs in civilian areas, Lt. Col. Ojha added.