Army bomb detection squad is holding workshops for citizens to help spot timing devices
Vijay Chavan of Force 24x7 and Subedar Ashok Mahadev Kedar (in white shirt) with Shailesh Bhatia (in T-shirt) look at timing explosives at the Bomb deduction office at Kalina PIC/ SAYED SAMEER ABEDI
Army bomb detection squad is holding workshops for citizens to help spot timing devices
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The Indian Ex-Services League (IESL), the force behind Force 24x7, is an organisation of retired soldiers. Post the Mumbai terror attacks, the Maharashtra cadre is focusing on synergising the army and the common man to create a paramilitary citizen force to tackle terrorism.
"We are looking out for a soldier amongst citizens. This can only be achieved if a new force is created which can aid the army and the police in fighting terrorism," explains Force 24x7 chief coordinator Vijay Chauhan, who plans to conduct similar training programmes for other volunteers from next week.
Turns out, the key to detect a bomb lies in identifying the key elements of any explosive the switch, a simple timing machine, a battery power source, a detonator and the actual explosive material like TNT or RDX. The two hands of the clock can act as switches to trigger an explosive. Defusing a bomb is best left for the experts because the procedure varies from explosive to explosive.
The latest trend is the use of mobile phone bombs, where a substantial amount of explosive like RDX or TNT is attached to the handset. A simple call to the wired handset can trigger a blast of great magnitude, from a distance.
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