HUGE CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES SEIZED; 3 HELD IN BALANGIR

(police announcing it in a press conference)

HUGE CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES SEIZED; 3 HELD IN BALANGIR

Friday, 17 November 2017 | SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR | in Bhubaneswar

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On a tipoff, a police team led by DSP Gunanidhi Mallick raided the storehouse of one Sudam Mahaling on Tuesday night at Sadeipali village located on the outskirts of the town and seized a huge cache of explosives.

The police arrested three persons, including the BJP’s Kantabanji Nagar president Murarilal Agarwal and his son Mahesh Agarwal in connection with the incident.

They seized 106 bundles of safety fuse, 38 bags of ammonium nitrate and also another loose 15kg of ammonium Nitrate, 13,527 electrical detonators, 35, 5,770 non-electrical detonators, 15 kg charcoal powder, 15 kg sulphar powder and electrical wire of 8 bundles besides cash of Rs 2, 32,155, informed Balangir SDPO Narayan Naik at a Press conference here on Thursday.

The police during investigations found that Sudam had an explosives license which was valid till March 2011. He used to procure the explosives from one Mahesh Agrawal of Kantabanji.

Although father of Mahesh, Muralilal Agrawal is having an explosive licence, yet the explosive supplied to Sudam is illegal, the SDPO said.

Neither Murailal has provided any documents for selling the explosive to Sudam nor has he a valid license to store the huge quantity of explosives. The police have seized cash worth of Rs 2, 32,155 of the transaction, further said the SDPO.

Sudam used to sell the explosive to quarry operators in the district. But he could not produce any papers in support of his purchase from Murarilal. The police arrested Sudam and Mahesh and registered a case under Sections 5 of the Explosive Substance Act, said Naik.

But the question is how the police and intelligence machinery could not know about the trading of explosives of huge quantity going on here.

Reporters pointed out how police in Kantabanji let off a truck laden with explosives a few years ago and expressed concern over illegal operation of stone quarries in the district and blasting.

Locals also expressed surprise how could such a huge quantity of explosive were stored in the village.