’Act of Terror’ to ’Heartbreak’, how mixer blast case changed; It revolves around a Matrimonial site
Mangalore Today News Network / News18
Hassan, Dec 29, 2022: A mixer grinder that had come as a parcel exploded at a courier office in Karnataka’s Hassan on Monday, sending chills down residents’ spine. There were speculations of the blast being an “act of terror“. Some even wondered if kitchen appliances could be of any threat. However, the story got a cinematic twist when the case turned into a story of heartbreak and revenge.
According to officials, a jilted lover tried to kill a woman he was pursuing, by planting a detonator inside a mixer and sending it as a gift to her. Before the appliance could reach its destination, the fate took its turn and an innocent person at the courier office had to bear the brunt.
The story began when a 32-year-old divorcee created a profile on a matrimonial website, where she met a 28-year-old man who was a widower from Bengaluru. The two began talking and everything seemed to be going well for them, until the situation changed with the woman distancing herself from the Bengaluru man. She even declined to marry him.
An official said that to win the woman back, the lover sent her two gifts but she “discarded them without opening". The man then decided to take revenge, and fixed a detonator inside a new mixer-grinder. He sent it through DTDC courier service. But the woman returned the parcel to the courier office after seeing that the sender’s name was not mentioned on the box.
The box was lying in the courier office for two days. Since no one came to claim it or contacted them, the courier franchise owner, Shashi Kumar, grew curious and opened it. He found a mixer grinder inside and was surprised to see it in good shape.
“He then thought of testing, and seeing if it actually worked. As he plugged it into a socket and switched it on, the mixer-grinder exploded with a loud noise. The intensity of the blast was such that windows, doors and walls of the shop were damaged," a police officer told reporters.
Elaborating on the case, he said, “The lover had planted a low intensity explosive using a detonator and sent it through a courier. He devised it in such a way that it would explode once switched on and it exactly happened that way”."
The incident had triggered panic among public and Hariram Shankar, SP, Hassan was investigating the case himself. Shashi Kumar, victim of the blast is being treated for his serious wounds, while the accused lover is in police custody.