Fazilka, 16 July (H.S.): Panic gripped the border village of Muhar Khiwa in Fazilka district after a suspected bomb-like object was recovered from an agricultural field near the India-Pakistan international border. Local police and senior Border Security Force officials rushed to the spot and secured the area.According to the information available, a farmer was ploughing his field when a heavy iron object resembling a bomb suddenly emerged from beneath the soil. Considering the possible danger, the farmer immediately informed the local administration and security agencies.Fazilka Sadar police station SHO Hardev Singh Bedi said police and BSF teams reached the location soon after receiving the information. The field was sealed, and a security cordon was established around the suspected object.As a precautionary measure, the object was surrounded with bags filled with soil and sand to minimise the risk of any untoward incident. Police personnel have also been deployed in and around the field, while the movement of local residents has been restricted.The SHO said the Army or the Punjab Police Bomb Disposal Squad had been informed to examine and safely defuse or destroy the object. The area will remain under tight security until the specialised team completes the operation.Similar incidents have been reported earlier in Punjab’s districts located along the India-Pakistan border. Old bombs and mortar shells have previously been recovered from fields, canals and riverbanks in the border areas of Ferozepur, the Ajnala sector of Amritsar and parts of Pathankot. Some of these objects are believed to be unexploded ammunition left behind during the wars of 1965 and 1971.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH