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Explosives seized

BERHAMPUR: Easy availability of explosive materials can make places of Orissa soft targets for terrorists.

Ammonium nitrate, urea, gelatin sticks, detonators are quite easily available in illicit manner areas near the city in Ganjam district. It may be noted that these explosive materials were used in the recent serial blasts by terrorists in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. Two days ago personnel of the Golanthara police station in Ganjam district had raided some small road side shops to unearth explosive materials stored there. These shops were serving as illegal retail counters of these explosive materials.

Police seized 19 detonators and different types of special wires used for detonation from a ration shop at Jharigaon village. Four bundles of gelatin along with 25 detonators and other materials used for causing an explosion could be located from a betel shop at Kanisi.

Three persons involved in this illegal trade of explosives were arrested. This kind seizure of explosive material is not new in Ganjam district.

On July 27 last year 110 gelatin detonators along with other explosive materials were seized by police from Govindpur village on the outskirts of the city under Golanthara police station. In February, 2007 around 400 gelatin sticks illegally brought from Nagpur along with large amount of urea had been seized from an autorickshaw at Pokudibandha on the outskirts of the city. On May 26 last year police had unearthed gelatin sticks, 180 kilograms of ammonium nitrate and other equipments for detonation from a poultry farm at Kukudakhandi around 12 kilometers from the city.

Due to presence of stone quarries in parts of Ganjam district, easy and illegal availability of explosive materials has become a reality in this area. But this illegal storage and marketing of explosive materials can be misused by miscreants who may be naxals or terrorists.

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