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18 more rocket shells recovered

By Our Staff Reporter

GHAZIABAD, OCT. 2. With the recovery of 18 more rocket shells from one of the eight trucks carrying scrap to Bhushan Steel and Strips here, the Army today banned entry of civilians into the Kanha Upavan area along the banks of the Hindon river where the vehicles have been taken for intense checking.Bomb disposal squads of the National Security Guards and the Army are workingto separate the live and empty rocket shells from the scrap. During the day-long search, the squad found 18 rocket shells, including several 81-mm rockets, in one of the trucks. Earlier, over 20 rocket shells, 10 of them live, were recovered from the scrap unit following an explosion last week in which 10 persons were killed and several others injured.

The Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Meerut Range), Chandrika Rai, said most of the rocket shells recovered today appeared to be dead. ``They had been handed over to the Army for detonation which would probably be carried out on Sunday,'' he said.

The bomb disposal squads are yet to scour through the scrap loaded in the seven other trucks stationed on the factory premises. It is learnt that three more trucks stationed at the Tughlakabad Inland Container Depot in South Delhi, on which scraps imported from Iran are loaded, are also being searched.

Officials arrested

The unit's general manager, B.S. Verma, and the deputy general manager, Ompal Vij, have been arrested. ``Action will be taken against the owner if we come across any evidence suggesting negligence,'' Mr. Rai said.

At the same time, investigating agencies are trying to find out how exactly the consignment containing such ``hazardous material'' was allowed to be downloaded at Kandla port in Gujarat and then transported to Ghaziabad in trucks. Initial probe has indicated that the live rockets were inadvertently dumped along with the scraps back in Iran.

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18 more rocket shells recovered

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