Patna: Bomb disposal squads from Delhi and Kolkata were sent to Bihar over the weekend after the police seized around 100 kilograms of explosives in Patna that allegedly belong to Maoist rebels.
Police said they had to call in teams from the elite National Security Guard in Delhi and from Kolkata to ensure there were no explosions in the residential area where the devices were recovered.
Nobody has been arrested so far. Bihar votes in September for its next government; politicians are now in campaign mode.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is hoping for a third term and has partnered with old rival Lalu Yadav and the Congress.
The BJP hopes to leverage anti-incumbency and the Prime Minister's popularity to win the state.
"In all over 100 kilograms of explosives were recovered," Sudhir Kumar Podika, Patna city superintendent of police, told news agency AFP. Police made the find on Thursday at a residential locality on the outskirts of the state capital.
"These bombs, believed to have been brought into the city by the People's Liberation Front of India, were of moderate to high intensity," he added.
The official said they made the find after an "intelligence tip-off" from the police in neighbouring Jharkhand.
"In all, we recovered 12 improvised explosive devices, 52 timer devices, 10 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, two sensors, seven remotes and 100 electric detonators from the lodge in a residential area," the officer added.
