In the line of duty: BDS official dies while trying to defuse bomb

Lal Mast was widely regarded as an expert in his field.

A member of the bomb disposal squad (BDS) was killed when a bomb he was trying to defuse exploded unexpectedly in Adezai village on Tuesday afternoon.

Lal Mast, an ex-army official from Telaband village, was told a bomb had been spotted in Adezai village along an unpaved road frequently used by peace committee members and leaders. He was sent to the site along with Mattani police and discovered the remote-controlled five kilogramme device buried in the ground with his metal detector. The bomb, however, went off when Mast attempted to extract it.

“We were sent to the area along with Mast. There was a distance of barely 10 metres between Lal and my men,” said Additional SHO Ghafar Khan. “When the dust cleared after the explosion, we saw Mast’s body in pieces.”

An official of the BDS, wishing to remain anonymous, said Mast had worked with the army’s bomb disposal unit before he retired. He was then hired on a two-year contract with the police and transferred to a bomb disposal unit led by the late Hukam Khan.



The official added Mast was unemployed for six months after he completed his contract and had only recently been hired by SP Rural in the Mattani police department. “He had nothing to do with our squad, but Mast was an expert in this field,” the official maintained, adding Mast lacked the proper equipment needed to defuse bombs.

The official added that after BDS officer Hukam Khan was killed, bomb units resorted to forcibly setting off explosive devices in order to avoid unnecessarily risking the lives of officers in trying to defuse them manually.

Referring to explosives planted in the previous week, the official said Mast had successfully defused three pressure cooker bombs in the last few days. “This time he was a victim of his own fearlessness.”

Since he was not a contract employee with the Mattani police, Mast’s family is not eligible for the Shaheed Package given to martyrs.

Lal Mast leaves behind a widow, three daughters and two sons.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2013.