This story is from October 22, 2021

Gelatin sticks, detonators seized from parked van in Birbhum

Gelatin sticks, detonators seized from parked van in Birbhum
Suri: A huge quantity of explosives — 5,500 gelatin sticks and 2,600 detonators — was recovered from a pick-up van in Majhkhanda village under Rampurhat police station of Birbhum on Wednesday night.
SP Nagendranath Tripathi said the unoccupied vehicle was parked next to a roadside eatery. “We are trying to find the driver and locate the vehicle’s owner,” he added.
Explosives haul is not uncommon in Birbhum.
Most of these are used at unauthorised stone quarries in the western parts of the district, bordering Jharkhand. In 2017, 1.8 lakh detonators were seized during a joint operation of police and CRPF from Khapur village in Nalhati. Two Telangana natives were arrested.
Investigations reveal that quarry owners in Bengal and Jharkhand often require more explosives than the sanctioned quantity for mining additional blocks without permit. On May 10, 2018, five persons were killed in Jharkhand’s Lipipara village, bordering Birbhum, when they were allegedly handling an underground stash.
In a separate incident, four persons were arrested from Nalhati on Tuesday for allegedly dealing in illegal arms. Two country-made guns and several rounds of ammunition were seized. According to police, one Antel Haque from Murshidabad district came to Nalhati to sell the arms and ammunition to three local residents identified as Sk Samerul, Sk Kajem and Sk Jamerul.
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