The unexploded bomb with a timer device found at the TVS bus stop on Anna Salai in Chennai on February 25, 1998
| Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
On a sunny morning, 27 years ago, an explosion could have killed policemen inside the Anna Salai police station in Chennai. What saved them was the bomb’s faulty timer device.
This incident that took place in Tamil Nadu on February 25 in 1998 is worth recalling in light of the accidental blast of seized explosives at the Nowgam police station in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, this Children’s Day, which led to death of nine persons and left 32 others injured.
It was a busy morning. Scores of men and women were waiting to board buses at the TVS bus stop on the arterial Anna Salai (Mount Road), one of the busiest commute point in the State capital. Someone noticed an unclaimed bag at the bus stop opposite the Spencer Plaza, a popular hangout in those days. Since a serial bomb explosion had taken place in Coimbatore only 11 days earlier, people panicked at the sight of the bag.
A police constable who arrived at the spot casually picked up the bag and took it to the Anna Salai police station, located just yards away. He placed it on a table inside the station and informed senior officers.
‘Tiffin box bomb’
A bomb expert, who examined the baggage, was taken aback to find it was a bomb. It later came to be referred to as the ‘tiffin box bomb’. The explosive material was packed inside a stainless steel container, covered with a plastic cover and connected to a small plastic box pitted with a timer device. The steel box and its cover were strapped with red and yellow tape and placed inside a Rexine bag.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the bomb, which would have an impact over a radius of 300 metres did not explode because of a faulty timer device,” said a report in The Hindu dated February 26, 1998. It contained five kg of gelatine material and was attached to batteries and a detonator. “The timer has been set in the reverse direction which delayed the explosion which was aimed to take place around 9.30 am when the bus stop is usually much crowded. In the impact several buildings would have been damaged in the area,” the report quoting a bomb expert said.
The ‘tiffin box bomb’ was later taken to an open ground and defused by the bomb detection and disposal squad.
Sensitisation
The casual handling of the bomb by the constable, however, became a discussion point within the police circles. It underscored the need to sensitise police personnel on handling unclaimed baggage.
“Though police have launched an awareness campaign among traders, theatre managers and security personnel of shopping complexes about the precautions to be taken during ‘bomb threat’ situations, through a series of public meetings, it is ironical several men in uniform are ignorant of the basic precautionary measures,” The Hindu wrote in a follow-up report.
‘Force of habit’
“A police officer admitted that thankfully the timer device was faulty and the bomb was crude, and the policeman was perhaps unaware that there are certain devices which would explode if even moved. He added by habit police personnel tend to take ‘mysterious parcels’ to their respective stations for verification, as police are yet to take the threat of bombs very seriously. Even on Thursday, it is learnt that the police took a parcel found in the Buckingham Canal to the Pulianthope police station. However, for a change, it was taken after it had been checked at the spot, it is learnt. The common practice followed by station level officers is to dump the ‘abandoned parcels’ into water tanks or sumps within the premises of police stations,” the report said.
But the TVS Bus Stop case was not an isolated one. A day later, some policemen were seen kicking around an object with a fuse, resembling a gelatine stick, near the Music College on Greenways Road, Chennai, while many motorists were passing by and some looked on curiously.
As for the source of the ‘tiffin box bomb’, the police suspected the role of one Amanullah, who was earlier arrested from Vepery in Chennai for storing a consignment of detonators. Amanullah and his accomplice Shah Jahan had managed to escape from police custody.
Published – November 19, 2025 05:30 am IST
