Chhattisgarh Police Foil Parcel Bomb Plot
Electrician’s explosive scheme targeting rival busted, smuggling ring exposed.
A chilling murder plot was thwarted in Chhattisgarh’s Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai district when police uncovered a 20-year-old electrician’s plan to kill a man using an improvised explosive device (IED) hidden inside a gift-wrapped music system speaker. The arrest of the prime suspect, Vinay Verma, and six accomplices not only prevented a tragedy but also exposed an illegal explosives smuggling racket, authorities said on Sunday.
The conspiracy unraveled when Afsar Khan, a resident of Manpur village, received a suspicious parcel adorned with a fake India Post logo at his shop. Sensing danger, Khan alerted the police, who dispatched a bomb disposal team. The team discovered a 2-kg IED concealed within a brand-new speaker, rigged to detonate when plugged into a power source. The device, powered by gelatin sticks and designed to use the speaker’s casing as shrapnel, was intended to kill Khan, the husband of a woman Verma was infatuated with, according to Superintendent of Police Lakshya Sharma.
Investigations revealed that Verma, a Kusami village resident, crafted the IED using online tutorials, with his Google search history chillingly including queries like “how to kill a person using a bomb without being caught by police.” Driven by unrequited love for Khan’s wife, whom he had admired since her college days, Verma plotted to eliminate her husband after their recent marriage.
Also Read: Undersea Earthquake Strikes Indonesia’s Poso
The probe also uncovered a broader explosives smuggling network. Verma allegedly sourced gelatin sticks from a stone quarry in Durg district, facilitated by accomplices Parmeshwar Verma, Gopal Verma, Ghasiram Verma, Dilip Dhimar, Gopal Khelwar, and Khilesh Verma. Parmeshwar paid Rs 6,000 for the explosives, Ghasiram delivered them, and Khilesh created the fake India Post logo. Police raids in Durg led to the seizure of 60 gelatin sticks and two detonators, traced back to illegal diversions from a Patharia quarry, whose operator now faces questioning.
“This operation not only stopped a planned murder but dismantled a dangerous explosives trafficking network,” SP Sharma said. The arrests echo a similar 2023 incident in neighboring Kabirdham district, where a bomb-laden wedding gift killed a newlywed and his brother. Authorities are continuing their investigation, vowing strict legal action against all involved as they work to ensure such threats are eradicated from the region.
Also Read: India’s Foreign Secretary Lands in Nepal
