Significant Recovery of Explosives and Detonators from a Deserted House in West Bengal
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Kolkata, Jan 8 (NationPress) The West Bengal Police have unearthed 20,000 detonators and 15,000 gelatin sticks from a deserted residence found in a forested region of the state's Birbhum district on Tuesday.
Recoveries of illegal detonators and gelatin sticks are frequently reported in the Birbhum district, primarily due to the numerous stone quarries where these explosives are utilized for stone blasting.
Nevertheless, district police sources indicated that this particular recovery is notably substantial. There are concerns that these items were collected in the abandoned house for potential insurgency activities within the state.
Acting on specific intelligence, personnel from the Enforcement Branch, alongside Birbhum district police, accessed the deserted house located in the Rampurhat jungle area.
Upon arrival, the investigators discovered several boxes containing the detonators and gelatin sticks. At the time of this report, no arrests had been made.
The police are conducting a comprehensive investigation into the matter, with investigators suspecting that these explosives may have been transported to Birbhum from neighboring Jharkhand.
This marks the second-largest seizure recorded in the district over the past three years.
To recall, a significant cache of explosives including 81,000 detonators, 27 kg of ammonium nitrate, and 1,925 kilograms of gelatin sticks was confiscated in the Muhammadbazar area of Birbhum district on June 30, 2022.
The Special Task Force (STF) of the state police was responsible for that seizure.
The National Investigation Agency initiated an investigation on September 29 of the same year, filing a chargesheet within 90 days of the investigation's commencement.
During that time, the NIA apprehended several prominent leaders from the Trinamool Congress and local business figures from Birbhum district in connection with the case.
