In the early hours of Tuesday, September 15, 2026, a luggage bag containing detonators and gelatin sticks was discovered on a bus at the Pandit Nehru Bus Station in Vijayawada. The bag, left unattended on the vehicle traveling from Narasaraopet in Palnadu district to Vijayawada, was reported by passenger Asif Ali of Uttar Pradesh to Krishnalanka police.
Police recovered 46 gelatin sticks and 50 detonators and are working to identify the owner. The South Zone police of the NTR Commissionerate has formed special teams, deployed a sniffer dog and a bomb detection squad, and registered a case under the Explosives Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Deputy Commissioner Krishna Kanth Patil said the investigation is being pursued from all angles.
Krishnalanka Circle Inspector J. Murali Krishna suggested the explosives may have been intended for quarry operations and noted that investigators are checking whether the owner had a quarrying licence, whether the materials were sourced from authorised agencies, and whether the detonators and sticks bear batch markings. Passengers expressed shock, with one remarking that the gelatine sticks were not connected to the detonators and that officials should tighten controls on passenger buses.
Police ruled out a Maoist link, citing the negligible presence of the banned CPI (Maoist) in the region, but stated that all possibilities are being explored. The incident follows a 2025 raid near Martur highway in Bapatla district where authorities seized 7.5 tonnes of gelatin sticks and 2,300 detonators linked to local granite mining. Authorities emphasize that the discovery averted a major tragedy.
