By Shyam Pandharipande,

Malegaon, Sep 14 (IANS) A major disaster was averted here Wednesday afternoon when a live bomb found in a sprawling shopping complex that also housed a mosque and a madrassa on a busy thoroughfare was defused, five days after serial blasts shook this power-loom town, killing 31 people.

The bomb, weighing about 1.25 kg and stuffed with enough explosives to cause devastation in a radius of one kilometre, was defused by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) personnel and taken for forensic tests late in the evening.

"A major disaster has been averted with successful disposal of the bomb," Additional Superintendent of Police (Nashik Range) Anil Kumbhare told IANS without elaborating on the nature of the bomb.

Reliable sources quoting top police officials and BDDS personnel, however, said the scale of devastation would have been at least four times more than that caused by the Friday blasts.

Seven schools, a college and a few hotels are situated in close vicinity of the Mohammadia Shopping Complex in whose lobby a 10-year-old spotted the bomb.

The office of the city police chief, besides two police stations, are located near the complex, which borders Hindu and Muslim localities in the town.

"The boy saw some metal wires protruding from a warped bicycle seat cover in the lobby of the complex while climbing up the stairs and told a tailor about it," Salim Bhai, a social activist of Malegaon said.

The tailor immediately alerted the police. All schools and markets were closed and roads cleared of people.

Ejaz Beg, chairman of the municipal council and a member of the peace committee here, said the people are concerned and careful but there is no panic.

Police, meanwhile, are investigating the role of 20 people in connection with the Friday blasts.

While the situation here has remained peaceful all along with people going about their routines, fear is palpable on the streets and the markets and rumours have been flowing fast and thick.