Chikkaballapur blast: Quarry engineer planned to dump gelatin sticks into fire, says lone survivor

BENGALURU: The blast in Chikkaballapur district on Tuesday, which claimed the lives of six quarry employees, may have been triggered when the victims tried to throw gelatin sticks into a fire to destroy them, investigators said, quoting from the statement of the lone survivor of the tragedy.
The finding negates the earlier suspicion that the blast happened when the men were carrying two sackfuls of explosives to hide them in a forested area in the wake of heightened police surveillance.
Mohammed Riyaz, driver of the Tata Ace , which had been hired to ferry the explosives, and the lone survivor in the incident, told investigators that he had overheard a conversation between engineer Uma Maheshwar and others during the nearly 20-minute journey.
Riyaz said his mini-truck was hired, but he wasn’t told for what purpose. He was first asked to go to a house near Peresandra village, where four members, including Uma Maheshwar, boarded the vehicle. The men carried two sackfuls of what he later learnt were gelatin sticks. The vehicle followed two others, who were on a motorcycle. All six men were employees of Sri Sai Shiradi Aggregate Quarry at Hirenagavali village nearby.
“From what I heard, Raghavendra Reddy, one of the owners of the quarry, had directed Uma Maheshwar to dispose of the explosives by throwing them into a waterhole located on the outskirts of Hirenagavali village. But Uma Maheshwar was of the opinion that throwing the sticks into water would mean it’d take at least 3-4 days for them to dissolve or turn soggy enough not to be identified. Uma Maheshwar told his men that as police were already searching in the vicinity, including waterholes, and other places for illegal explosives, it is better they put the sticks into a fire as this way they would be reduced to ashes and no traces would remain,” Riyaz said in his statement to police.
Accordingly, Nepalese national Mahesh Singh Bora, who was riding the bike with another person and had reached the spot ahead of the others, lit a fire. Bora met the team when the Tata Ace was halfway to its destination and rode back with them. “Uma Maheshwar and others walked towards the flames, carrying the gelatin-filled rice bags. Five minutes would have passed and the blast occurred,” an investigating officer said, adding: “We are shocked to hear Uma Maheshwar, despite being an engineer working with the quarry for over five years, was ignorant of the consequences of throwing gelatin sticks into fire.”
394 gelatin sticks found
Cops recovered 394 gelatin sticks from a waterhole located near a village — Muttugadahalli — on Wednesday evening. “They were bundled into a gunny bag and dipped in waist-deep water. Locals informed us, saying a few men were seen dumping them in the waterhole on Wednesday morning. We are searching other waterholes in surrounding areas,” said police.