JAIPUR: Panic spread in the RICO industrial area of Jaisalmer on Diwali night after a bomb-like object tied to a parachute landed and exploded inside a marble factory. The incident occurred nearly 150 kilometres from the India-Pakistan border.

According to police, a factory worker who was sleeping inside the premises initially assumed it was a Diwali rocket. He noticed a hole in the tin shed roof and saw a burning object fall to the ground. The worker quickly extinguished the small fire and went back to sleep, unaware of what had actually happened.

The next morning, he discovered a heavy metallic object on the floor marked with the words “51 mm” and “ILLLG”, along with a parachute lying nearby. Alarmed, he immediately informed the factory owner, who in turn contacted the police.

Upon receiving the information, Kotwali Police Station Officer Premdan Ratan and his team rushed to the spot at Ramesh Marble Factory. The area was cordoned off and the army was called in to examine the object.

“The matter is being investigated from all possible angles. The army has also started its own inquiry into the nature of the object,” said Station Officer Ratan. Preliminary investigation suggests that the object might have been an illumination shell—used for lighting purposes during military exercises—but officials have not ruled out other possibilities.