Just a day after a crude bomb went off on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway near Dahisar's Thakur Mall, an improvised explosive device (IED) was recovered from a state transport bus at Apta village near Panvel on Wednesday night after the vehicle reached the depot. In view of these two incidents, security forces have been put on high alert across the state.

The ST bus, which plies between Karjat and Apta villages, reached the bus depot around 10.15 pm on Wednesday after dropping all passengers. More than an hour later, the bus conductor PP Mendake noticed a white plastic bag while he was checking the vehicle before leaving for the day. He immediately picked it up and kept it on a bench outside.