Adilabad (Telangana) [India], October 15 (ANI): Adilabad Police have seized explosives worth about ₹20 lakh that were being transported illegally without a licence, and arrested seven people, District Superintendent of Police Akhil Mahajan said on Thursday.
Addressing a media conference at the District Police Headquarters, the SP said police found a large quantity of electronic detonators and boosters during vehicle checks near the Pipparwada Toll Plaza in Jainath Mandal. Police stopped two vehicles carrying seven people who were behaving suspiciously.
A search of the vehicles turned up 20,000 electronic detonators, valued at about ₹19 lakh, and 90 boosters, valued at ₹15,000. This puts the total value of the explosives at around ₹19.15 lakh, not counting the vehicles. Police also seized a 2 cars and six mobile phones.
Mahajan said transporting, storing and selling explosives without permission or a licence is a crime, and warned that the police would take strict action against anyone involved in such activity.
During interrogation, the accused told police they had been procuring the explosives through a man named Ravikumar in Uttar Pradesh, the SP said.
According to the preliminary investigation, they took bills from the company there in other people's names, packed electronic detonators into booster boxes, and brought them to Telangana. They planned to sell the material at higher prices to crushers, quarries and mines. The accused had travelled to Uttar Pradesh in the two vehicles and were on their way back when they were caught at the Jainath check post.
The arrested accused are Chepyala Parashuram (30), who lives in Medipalli in the Boduppal area; Vallepu Teja (23) and Kasthuri Sunil (26), both from Koppur village in Bheemadevarapalli Mandal; Kadam Shravan (36) of Narasimhulapalli village in Veenavanka Mandal; Soora Ranjith (25) of Bheemadevarapalli; and Kasthuri Madhu Kiran (28) and Pagala Sampath Reddy (52), both from Chintalapalli village in Shankarapatnam Mandal.
A case has been registered at Jainath Police Station against 9 people in all. Apart from the 7 arrested, the other two accused are MD Waheed and Ravikumar, and police are still investigating their roles.
Police are conducting an in-depth probe into where the explosives were procured, who they were meant to be supplied to, and who else is involved in the illegal transportation. The SP said the department is maintaining constant vigilance over illegal activities that threaten public safety. (ANI)
Explosives worth ₹20 lakh seized in Telangana's Adilabad, 7 arrested for illegally transporting detonators from UP
