Four days after the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) arrested two people from Mumbai for allegedly possessing 7.1kg of uranium worth ₹21.3 crore, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe into the case on Sunday, an NIA spokesperson said.
“In the presence of an order of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the agency has re-registered the case which was earlier registered by the ATS at the Kalachowki unit in Mumbai under section 24 (1) (a) of the Atomic Energy Act,” the agency spokesperson said. The NIA has re-registered the case and started the investigation, the spokesperson added.
Thane resident Jigar Jayesh Pandya, 27, and Abu Tahir Afzal Hussain Choudhary, 31, a Mankhurd local, are in police custody till May 12 for the alleged possession of the highly radioactive substance.
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Earlier, an NIA team had visited the ATS office, and after verifying facts, took over the case. “Now the documents related to the case will be handed over to them for further inquiry. As per the procedure, NIA will approach the court to take custody of both the accused as they are in ATS custody till May 12,” said an ATS officer.
The incident came to light after police inspector Santosh Bhalekar of the Nagpada unit got information about a person planning to sell pieces of uranium illegally. Bhalekar and his team then laid a trap and nabbed Pandya. During interrogation, Pandya revealed that he had got the uranium from Choudhary. Bhalekar then arrested Choudhary on May 5 after questioning several scrap dealers in Mumbai.
{{/usCountry}}The incident came to light after police inspector Santosh Bhalekar of the Nagpada unit got information about a person planning to sell pieces of uranium illegally. Bhalekar and his team then laid a trap and nabbed Pandya. During interrogation, Pandya revealed that he had got the uranium from Choudhary. Bhalekar then arrested Choudhary on May 5 after questioning several scrap dealers in Mumbai.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, ATS had sent the recovered substance to Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay, for chemical analysis. The BARC report confirmed that the seized substance was natural uranium and dangerous to human life.
“We have been interrogating the accused to find out where they had procured the uranium from. It appears that there are several others involved in the case. The uranium is approximately ₹3 crore per kg in the market,” added the ATS officer.