Maharashtra man makes ‘bomb’, asks Nagpur cops to help defuse it

NAGPUR: Eager to ‘make his presence felt’ in society, which had ‘forgotten’ and ‘abandoned’ him in the Covid lockdown, Rahul Pagare, 25, built a bomb from YouTube videos. Then, fearful of the consequences if it went off, he took it to the police station on Saturday and surrendered. Cops said the ‘bomb’ he assembled from scrap bits and pieces had no chance of going off.
After losing both parents, Pagare had been staying alone at rented places, but had to shift frequently since he was not able to pay rent.Pagare, who worked at a saloon, was mostly without any income, or earned negligible amounts, due to the prolonged restrictions. His three married sisters too remained engrossed in their own families, leaving him feeling lonely. He was lonely due to the lockdown and Covid restrictions, and hassled by his penniless condition.
Pagare, now in custody of Nandanvan police, watched YouTube videos to learn how to make a bomb. He built one, but then lost his nerve and walked into Nandanvan police station with the so-called bomb in a bag, raising a scare. Pagare handed over the bag to a constable, saying it had a bomb which he found at a desolate place, where he had gone to relive himself opposite KDK College.
Senior inspector MD Sheikh of Nandanvan police station said Pagare’s version of finding the bag at a desolate place was not believable. “Pagare soon spilled the beans, admitting it was he who had made the bomb and was now scared of getting caught by the police. He decided to bring the bomb to the cops fearing it may explode, and then he may land in bigger trouble,” said Sheikh.
Nandanvan police alerted Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), which dismantled the device brought in by Pagare. “It would not have exploded or caused any damage. He (Pagare) had filled a plastic box with some gunpowder used for making crackers (pyrotechnic materials). There was also a old Chinese mobile phone for making the circuit, a bulb with some pins in it and filled with petrol. He had also tried to use mosquito repellent machine and an old toy battery to create a red-light on the top,” said a BDDS expert, adding there was no detonator or gelatin like material.
An officer said, “Pagare assembled the device after seeing a video on bomb making in his sister’s mobile phone. It would not have exploded but triggered fear and chaos.”
Police even alerted intelligence agencies, and State Anti-Terrorist squad too rushed to interrogate Pagare. He was remanded to police custody for two days by the court.