R B Jagadish
Daijiworld Media Network – Karkala (SP)
Karkala, Apr 1: In the wake of recovery and confiscation of explosives illegally stocked at various places in the taluk over the last one week, the Hebri police found ammonium nitrate valued at Rs 7 lac buried inside a pit that was found dug on a government land near a crusher located at Chara village near Hebri on Monday March 31.
File Photo
It may be recalled that unduly large quantities of explosive materials, stored without obtaining necessary permission at Durg, Tellar, Nakre, Koti Chennaya Theme Park, Kuntady, Ashok Nagar, Kalya etc had been found and seized by the police. The cache was estimated to be valued at several crores of rupees. Biju Thomas, a native of Kerala, who has been identified as the main accused in the case, has been absconding. The police have failed to locate his whereabouts or gather any information about his movements, so far.
Based on reliable information, under the direction of assistant superintendent of police, Annamalai, and guidance of inspector, Naikar, Hebri station house officer, Seetaram T and other personnel, raided the spot and recovered 238 gunny bags full of ammonium nitrate. Each of these bags weighed 50 kg. These bags were found buried in government land near Durgi Crusher in Chara village.
The police have information that Biju Thomas has a hand in hoarding of these explosives too. They suspect that the explosives were hidden inside earth either to ensure that they do not get noticed during routine inspection, or they would have been shifted from some privately owned godowns after the suspect became apprehensive about the likelihood of being caught, in the light of recovery of explosives from various places in the taluk during the past some days. To obviate problems that might be caused to the owner of the godown, government land might have been used, it is being surmised.
Stone quarries operating all over the taluk, both legal and illegal, have been using explosives that are not permitted, extensively. This business cannot thrive without the tacit involvement of quarry owners, it is believed. People feel that a detailed investigation by efficient officers alone can bring out truth behind this dreadful scenario. The fact that leaders of various political parties own quarries here and the likelihood of them facing punitive action for these offences, make chances of proper investigation bleaker, it is widely believed.