A major tragedy was averted with timely detection of a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, officials said.

The IED, planted inside a tiffin box, was found lying on the roadside by the army’s road opening party at village Sangpur along the Jammu-Poonch National Highway early morning, they said.

They said the traffic on the busy highway was immediately suspended and a bomb disposal squad was summoned which later destroyed the explosive substance in a controlled mechanism without causing any damage.

Police have registered a case and further investigation is on to identify and arrest the suspected terrorists who planted the IED on the highway with the intention to trigger an explosion, the officials added.

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