What made Surat's bomb squad tick the last two days

21 AND TICKING: Surat's Bomb Disposal Squad has defused 21 bombs in the last two days.

J & K | Chhattisgarh | Delhi | MP |
Mizoram | Rajasthan

Featured Blog

Rajdeep Sardesai

26/11: Terror comes precariously close

Featured Slideshows

Surat: Twenty-one bombs were defused in Surat up to Wednesday, and the four men who defused them are the talk of the town.

Their latest count of the number of bombs they've defused in just two days, is a whopping 20 bombs and at the end of a very long and severely overworked two days, Jaisingh Patel of the Bomb Disposal Squad says that they just take God's name and go on working.

Each time, it's the same routine for Patel. He leans forward, holds his breath, gingerly strips the deadly package and cuts the wires - all without a trace of emotion, unmindful that he's setting a record of sorts.

The four members in his team have been together for the last 12 years. These days, they are checking virtually every street in Surat, round the clock.

Ajay Makhwana of the Bomb Defusal Squad says, "We never thought such a situation would ever arise in Surat."

Now, in a city under attack, watching Jaisingh bhai - as he is fondly known - defuse a bomb has become something of a spectacle and hundreds of people turn up everytime to cheer him on.

"People cheer us on. When we do this work, we don't think of ourselves or our families. We do it for the country and for the people," says Patel.

While the city admires them, their families are not so supportive. Jaisingh bhai says his wife has just discovered what he does exactly after watching him on television and understandably, she's not happy.

"Yes, she is unhappy, but what can we do? This is our duty," says he.

Another member of the Bomb Disposal Squad, Mohan Bhola adds, "I've switched off the TV at my house, but I think my children watch me on TV in the neighbours house."

Just minutes after CNN-IBN met the team on Wednesday night, they were called out again to defuse a 21st bomb. For these men, the clock and the bombs never stop ticking.