Chemical seizure: Key gang member in cop net

KOLKATA: The Special Task Force of Kolkata Police has arrested a key member of the gang that was smuggling explosive substance to Bengal from Odisha. A day after it seized a truck carrying 1000kg of the substance (potassium nitrate), the STF is now busy collecting information about some illegal firecracker units in North 24 Parganas that might be used to make crude bombs for use in the Lok Sabha polls beginning on April 11.
But more importantly, police claimed the supplier in Odisha was found to be an authorized dealer. “However, he had been using fake papers and supplying explosives to unknown entities at a premium rate. Our team is working with Odisha Police in this regard. The criminal angle along with possible Maoist links are also being probed,” said a highly placed source.
An STF team is likely to visit Odisha soon. “A few Bengal residents were regularly buying these substance from agents based in Odisha,” added a source.
“The accused, Rabiul Islam (35) of Malikapur, North 24 Parganas, was arrested with the help of Purba Medinipur police on Saturday evening. Rabiul has a firecracker shop in North 24 Parganas. Till now, he claimed that he was illegally procuring the explosives from Odisha with the help of a middleman and selling the same in Naihati. His statements are being verified and a hunt for the middleman is on,” said a senior STF officer.
The police said that the accused would be questioned on the route he used to take to bring in the explosives. The state administration has hinted that it would be carrying out more extensive checks on the highways.
The STF said that the criminal antecedent of Rabiul was also being checked. “He has named a few bomb experts at Jagaddal, Bhatpara and Naihati. We are checking their movements for the past three weeks,” said an officer.
The police said that all its units had been instructed to ensure that there was no trouble during the upcoming election. “We are ascertaining how long this gang had been bringing in explosives. It seems this has been going on for sometime, but this time, the consignment was the biggest,” said another investigator.
In 2015, the CID had recovered 600kg of the far more lethal ammonium nitrate from a godown on Strand Road. “That time, too, we came to know that the explosives were procured from Odisha and Bihar. After production of bombs in North 24 Parganas and Murshidabad, they are sent to Kolkata and even Bangladesh. We are investigating if anyone from that gang is involved here,” said a source.