30 pm Wednesday. We laid a trap and placed commandos in civvies in the area,' Debroy said.

'We were on alert and looking for anyone with a red T-shirt in the area, but hardly could believe that two kids would come to collect the money.'

The two boys after collecting the packet tried crossing the road when the commandos realised the NDFB's game plan and managed to catch the kids.

'Some boys met us on the road and gave us Rs.100 each and asked us to go to the shop and collect a packet. I was given a red T-shirt to wear and also a letter,' Ganesh Das told police interrogators.

'We did not know what was inside the packet and agreed to do so as they gave us money,' the other boy, Babu Chetri, said.

There are now fears that militants ahead of Independence Day might use children to plant bombs in crowded places.

'We cannot rule out the possibility of militant groups using children for carrying out explosions in crowded places,' a senior police official said.