Bomb scare fizzles out in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Jan 2 (UNI) The bomb scare at NTR Gardens in the heart of the city, near the State Secretariat, fizzled out as the ''country-made bomb'' recovered proved to be just fire crackers, much to the relief of the police here today.

Police said on a tip-off that an unclaimed tiffin box was lying in a trash can, a posse of police personnel rushed to the spot and recovered the box, suspected to be containing a country-made bomb.

A bomb disposal squad examined it and found that it was only fire crackers.

Central Zone Deputy Commissioner of Police Md Iqbal told newspersons that ''initially, it was suspected that the tiffin box, recovered from a dustbin, contained bomb. On examination, it was found that it contained only crackers, probably left behind by revellers on New Year's day.'' The NTR gardens is located in front of Lumbini park, where ten people were killed and over 30 injured in a bomb blast on August 25, 2007.

In the wake of the scare, coming a day ahead of the visit of President Pratibha Patil, police stepped up security through out the city.

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