Police on Friday claimed to have foiled a plot to carry out bomb blasts at Chiraiyatand in south Patna.

A pressure cooker bomb and other bomb-making material were seized from a house located at Karbighaiya in the state capital. Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by Sadar deputy superintendent of police Pramod Kumar Mandal conducted a raid at a three-storied building near Karbigahiya under the jurisdiction of Jakkanpur police station and seized a powerful bomb kept in a carton.

The raid followed interrogation of two youths, including an electrician Rahul Kumar, who had allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh each from two businessmen of Prithwipur locality of the town. Both the traders, Kamlesh Kumar and Kumud Ranjan, had lodged complaints with the Jakkanpur police station in this connection.

The traders had received threat calls on their cellphones on January 22 and 23. Earlier, they had received hand-written letters at their business establishments located on Prithwipur road number 1 near Chiraiyatand overbridge.

The alleged extortionists, purportedly owing allegiance to a banned Maoist outfit, had also threatened the traders, stated to be owners of a jewellery shop and a medicine store, respectively, with dire consequences for their failure to follow their diktat.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaaj said personnel of the bomb disposal squad were assigned to defuse the explosive. "The suspects are being questioned to ascertain their links with Maoists, if any," he added.

Later, a team of the anti-terrorism squad visited the spot and gathered samples.

During interrogation, Rahul reportedly revealed that he had bought the explosives from Biharsharif in Nalanda. He had introduced himself as a dealer of a water purifier company to the house owner, an investigating officer in the case told The Telegraph.