Bag with detonators, gelatin sticks triggers panic on bus at PNBS in Vijayawada

APSRTC buses at a bus station in Vijayawada. File | Photo Credit: T. Vijaya Kumar Detonators and gelatin sticks were found in a luggage bag on a bus at the Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) in Vijayawada in the early hours of Tuesday (September 15, 2026).A passenger, Asif Ali of Uttar Pradesh, who noticed the unattended bag alerted the police and handed it over to the Krishnalanka police.The investigation found that the bag had been placed on the bus travelling from Narasaraopet in Palnadu district to Vijayawada. The police found 46 gelatin sticks and 50 detonators in the bag and are trying to trace its owner.The South Zone police of the NTR Commissionerate formed special teams to trace its owner. A sniffer dog and a bomb detection squad were pressed into service.Deputy Commissioner of Police Krishna Kanth Patil said the case is being probed from all angles, and the owner of the explosive material would be traced soon.“The passenger handed over the bag to the police in which the explosive material was found. We suspect that the ammunition was meant for quarry operations,” said Krishnalanka Circle Inspector J. Murali Krishna.“We are trying to find out why the owner placed the bag in the bus. Whether the person carrying the bag had the licence for quarrying and procurement of explosive materials, whether the stock was procured from authorised explosive government agencies, whether the detonators have markings and if so which batch they are from, and the same is the case with the gelatin sticks; other details are being verified,” Mr. Murali Krishna told The Hindu.The Krishnalanka police registered a case under the Explosives Act and provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.Investigating officers are verifying CCTV footage at the Narasaraopet, Guntur, Mangalagiri and other bus stations en route to the PNBS.Passengers expressed shock over the transportation of explosives on the bus. “A major tragedy was averted. We were lucky that the gelatine sticks were not connected to the detonators. Officials should take steps against illegal activities in passenger buses and give priority to public safety,” said a passenger, G. Rama Rao.Maoist link unlikely, say policeThough in the past, the banned CPI (Maoist) procured gelatine sticks and detonators from private quarry contractors to convert them into IEDs, and smuggled them through public transport to the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) region or to neighbouring Chhattisgarh. But senior police officers say that is unlikely in this case, as the presence of the Maoists is almost negligible in both regions. “But nothing can be ruled out. We are exploring all possible angles,“ said a senior police officer.This is not the first time that such a quantity of explosive material has been found in Andhra Pradesh. In April 2025, near the Martur highway in Bapatla district, the police intercepted a major illegal consignment of commercial explosives, about 7.5 tonnes of gelatin sticks and approximately 2,300 detonators. The stock was without valid permits and was stored in a facility adjacent to the highway; it was linked to local granite mining operations. Published - September 15, 2026 02:53 pm IST