Kolkata: A Pakistani army mortar used in the 1971 freedom struggle that gave birth to Bangladesh was found buried underground in the northern district of West Bengal after 53 years.
Ammunition was found in a field at Dinhata in Cooch Behar on Wednesday morning. Sub-Divisional Police Officer (Dinhata) Biman Mitra said that a group of laborers started digging ground for construction work in Jhikari under Chaudhurihat Gram Panchayat.
Suddenly one of them shouted ‘Bum, bum’ as his spade hit the mortar, making a metallic sound. The police were informed. The location is near the India-Bangladesh border. Border Security Force personnel also inspected the incident site.
Later, bomb disposal team of Indian Army was called from Binnaguri to recover the ammunition with ‘Pakistan’ written on it. The army later disposed of the mortars, Mr. Mitra added.
It is suspected that the ammunition was not exploded during the war but was buried under the ground.