Lagatar24 Desk
Dumka, Nov.29: At a time when alerts have been sounded across Jharkhand following the arrest of top rank Maoist leader, Prashant Bose, recovery of huge quantity of explosive materials from a career vehicle from the rebel hit Shikaripara police station area of the district late last evening has put question mark on the role of local police.
However, the recovery of explosives including detonators and Neogel 90, an ammonium nitrate based material, has not been made during the routine checking of vehicles by the police but after the vehicle carrying them met with an accident near Mohulpahadi based Panchayat Bhawan along Dumka-Rampurhat road.
“A portion of explosives scattered around the spot where the speedy Tata Magic vehicle, on which they were being carried towards Shikaripara, overturned,” said an eyewitness preferring anonymity adding that the driver and cleaner escaped from the scene as the by-passers started gathering around the spot.
Few bags of coconuts were also loaded on top of the vehicle with its career wrapped with plastic sheets to mislead the security.
“The quantity of respective explosive materials is being ascertained and investigations are on to find out the supply source and destination where the consignment was to be delivered” Deputy SP Noor Mustafa said.
Shikaripara is home to the stone mining industry where large scale illegal quarries and stone crushers are functional as a result of nexus between the stone mafias and local police, the possibility of the recovered explosive consignment meant for the very purpose is also not being ruled out.
The officer in-charge of the Shikaripara police station Sushil Kumar meanwhile did not allow reporters to take snaps of the explosive consignment which were later brought to the police station the previous night itself.
