A UXO device weighing over 12 kg was unearthed by labourers in Gram Gaderi near Dumna Airport Friday evening, sending the locality into a panic

Shock Discovery During Digging

Workers at a residential construction site in Gram Gaderi village, on the outskirts of Jabalpur, got the scare of their lives late Friday evening when their shovels hit what initially appeared to be scrap metal buried about three to four feet underground. The labourers were digging foundation pillars for a house being built on a plot owned by local resident Sunil Yadav when they noticed the partially exposed object.

A closer look was enough to raise alarm. The shape was unmistakable. Work stopped immediately, and the plot owner was informed. He took one look and called the police.

Panic Spreads Through Village

News travels fast in small localities. Within minutes, word of a live bomb buried under a residential plot spread through Gram Gaderi, drawing a crowd despite the obvious risks. Residents gathered at the site even as Khamaria police rushed in with a Bomb Disposal Squad.

The area around the plot was cordoned off and bystanders were pushed back while the BDS team moved in to assess the device.

UXO Confirmed, Army Takes Over

Examination confirmed what locals had feared. The object was a live unexploded ordnance — a UXO — with an estimated weight of over 12 kilograms. According to officials, the bomb's lethal radius extends to approximately 50 metres, making the find particularly serious given its proximity to a residential neighbourhood.

Khamaria police subsequently notified the Army, who arrived to take custody of the device. Khamaria Station In-charge Rajkumar Khatik confirmed the handover. "The bomb has been secured and handed over to Army officials. The Army team is now carrying out the defusing process. Police are investigating the full matter," he said.

Six Kilometres From an Ordnance Factory

The location adds a layer of context to the discovery. Gram Gaderi sits roughly six kilometres from the Ordnance Factory Khamaria — a defence manufacturing unit with a long operational history in the region. While no official connection has been established yet between the factory and the buried device, the proximity has not gone unnoticed.

UXO finds are not unheard of in areas with a historical military or ordnance presence. Old munitions, test rounds, or discarded wartime material can lie dormant underground for decades before construction activity brings them to the surface.

Defusing Underway

As of late Friday night, the Army's team was in the process of defusing the device. Police remained on scene and the investigation was continuing to determine how long the bomb had been buried and its possible origin.

Residents in the immediate vicinity had been moved away as a precaution, and the surrounding area remained under watch.

The incident is a reminder of the risks that can lie hidden beneath the surface in areas with deep defence-related histories — and the importance of alertness when ground is broken for new construction.