Ahead of Independence Day, Punjab Police on Monday said they foiled a major terror bid as they recovered a double-decker tiffin box carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) weighing two to three kilos along the Indo-Pak border in Amritsar that could be used for a high-value target.

State Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta told the media here that as per the past cross-border incidents the explosives could have been delivered via a drone from Pakistan.

Five hand-grenades and 100 cartridges were found in a bag that contained the tiffin box in Daleke village on Saturday evening.

“Subsequently the NSG (National Security Guard) was alerted and it reached the spot and started the investigation,” he said.

The DGP said an ex-sarpanch informed the police about the sighting of a drone on the night of August 7 that later returned towards the other side of the international border.

The police were put on alert and an extensive search was carried. During the search, an abandoned bag was found that carried seven nicely packed pouches that carried one plastic tiffin, five hand-grenades and 100 cartridges.

An RDX weighing two-three kg, a switch and a remote control device were also found.

“The explosive devised has a provision of switch mechanism for fixing time for the explosion. There is a spring mechanism too. Also, there is a magnetic mechanism with two magnets,” the DGP explained.

Gupta said the device also has a circuit board to be used for remote mechanisms. Three detonators were also found.

“It seemed all these components were packed by a team of specialists. It was to be used for some high-value target,” the DGP said, adding, “Right now we don’t know about the target”.

“Also we have no information that how many such IED explosives have landed in Punjab.”

The DGP said the recovery of tiffin bomb IED in the state was after a long gap. Earlier, such IEDs like transistor bombs were used commonly during militancy days in the state.

He said there has been a noticeable increase in cross-border activity in the last two three months. “This is a very sinister and worrisome development,” he said.

On the possible target for the tiffin bomb, the DGP said it could have been meant for any target in the country and investigations were on to find out the target and also for whom the consignment was meant.