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26 missing trucks found with ammo
Three days after the police in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh went into a tizzy after 61 trucks laden with explosives went missing between April and July, the Bhilwara police found 26 of the trucks and 150 tonne explosives on Monday. Mahesh Agarwal reports.
Three days after the police in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh went into a tizzy after 61 trucks laden with explosives went missing between April and July, the Bhilwara police found 26 of the trucks and 150 tonne explosives on Monday.
The trucks, with nearly 400 tonne explosives worth Rs 1.3 crore, were reported to have disappeared after they were loaded at the warehouse of Dholpur-based firm Rajasthan Explosives and Chemicals Ltd (RECL) over four months.
The explosives, meant to be supplied to mining companies, never reached the buyer, trading firm Ganesh Magazine, based in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh.
On Friday, four of the trucks were found in the Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh — without their deadly cargo.
On Monday, SP Umesh Dutta said two magazines (where explosives are stored) in Bholi village of Bhilwara district had been sealed.
"The documents found at the magazines bear the name of Ganesh Magazine and bear the same batch numbers as the consignments sent from RECL," Dutta told HT.
A case has been lodged by the police against the owner of the company that owns the magazines, Ajay Traders. But owner and his wife are absconding, the police said.
After the disappearance of the 61 trucks was reported by HT on August 13, the Madhya Pradesh police had expressed concerns that the explosives had gone into the wrong hands, perhaps even to terrorists.
Following publication of the HT report, the Union Home Ministry expressed concern and asked the Madhya Pradesh for a report on the missing trucks.
The anti-terrorism squad of Rajasthan Police, which was entrusted with the task of investigating the case in the state, had suspected that the explosives had been sold to mine operators in Bhilwara and Rajsamand districts or even to Maoists in Andhra Pradesh.
