Seven rocket shells were found from a garbage dump in Punjab's Patiala district on Monday, a senior police officer said.

There was no explosive in the shells, Punjab Police's Deputy Inspector General (Patiala range) Mandeep Singh Sidhu said.

He said the shells were found from a bag at the garbage dump on Patiala Road.

Sharing further details, Patiala's Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nanak Singh said, "We got information from a passerby that six to seven rocket shells were found." A police team was rushed to the spot, the SSP told reporters.

He said the bomb-disposal squad and anti-sabotage teams have been called to the spot.

"During a preliminary check, no explosive material was found in the shells," he added.

"It seems that the shells were dumped by a scrap dealer," the SSP said.

Police, however, will carry out a probe taking all possibilities into account, he said, adding, "We are not ruling anything out at this point in time." The SSP informed that they will also involve the Army authorities in the matter. Experts from the Army will check how old were these shells and how did those reach here.

The officer said police will scan the CCTV footage of nearby areas and human intelligence will also be involved.

Replying to a question, the SSP said, "We reached the spot as soon as we received information about the shells." "We will soon trace the person who dumped the shells," he said.

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