The Delhi Police recovered an improvised explosive device (IED) in an unattended bag from the Ghazipur Flower Market area of the national capital on Friday morning, triggering a major security concern two weeks before Republic Day celebrations. The device was later defused.

Delhi Fire Service officials received the report of the suspicious bag, which was found in the flower market, at 10:19 am, police said, adding an iron box containing the explosives was concealed in a black backpack.

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The officials from Delhi Police’s Special Cell, the NSG’s bomb detection and disposal team, and fire tenders soon arrived and cordoned off the area.

Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana said there was no blast and the IED was recovered. Police, along with multiple agencies are working to find out details, major casualty averted, Asthana said.

“We were informed by the Delhi Police about the suspicious object at around 11 am. The Improvised Explosive Device has been destroyed by using a controlled explosion technique. The samples of the IED have been collected and the explosive will be ascertained and informed to the Delhi Police,” said a National Security Guard officer.

Preliminary investigation indicated that the bomb was planted at the flower market’s main gate.

Police suspect there was a timer placed inside the bomb. The investigation is still underway to ascertain who and how was the bomber placed, a senior police official said. The black bag containing the IED weighed approximately 3 kg, said sources.

Bomb suits were seen being worn by NSG personnel at the site where a bomb disposal container known as a Total Containment Vessel (TCV) was brought.

With the help of police personnel, NSG bomb disposal specialists dug an approximate eight-foot ditch in an open area where the bag carrying the IED was disposed of. “The NSG conducted a controlled explosion of the recovered IED at around 1:30 pm,” an official said.

The NSG, later said: “A bomb disposal squad of the National Security Guard has defused the IED recovered from Ghazipur. Samples of the IED have been collected. The team will submit a report on the chemical component used to assemble the explosive.”

The incident has triggered a major security concern in Delhi ahead of Republic Day and police tightened security measures in market places and in and around the vital installations. Senior police officers have been instructed to keep close watch for round the clock to avoid any untoward incident, sources said.