Explosives in massive quantity found in the heart of Jaipur

Jaipur: A huge cache of explosives, enough to blow up residential colonies in the radius of several kilometers, were recovered from Galta Gate in Jaipur’s Walled City area on Friday night. Police officials said that the explosives stored in a godown were enough to blow up the entire area.

Special operations group (SOG) that conducted the raid said as per the preliminary investigation, the explosives were to be used for explosions in illegal mines in the state’s Mewat region. Two people were rounded up and they are being quizzed, officials said.

IG, SOG Dinesh MN said that ammonium nitrate stored in 225 sacks, 2600 detonators, 204 gelatin rods and 1800 meter fuse wires were found hidden in a truck parked in a godown in Galata Gate area. The godown owner Girraj Sharma, a resident of Jagatpura’s Sarsawati Nagar and truck driver Hansraj Meena were rounded up after the seizure for questioning.

Sources said that the explosives were brought to Jaipur from Kota and were to be delivered to illegal miners. One Ajay Shah from Kota has been identified as the person who delivered the explosives to the two detained men.

“Explosives were in such a huge quantity that they could have blown up several colonies in the locality,” said the officer. The involvement of an interstate gang in the smuggling of explosives has not been ruled out.

The fact that the two men had been smuggling explosives for the past four years without being detected has alarmed the state police’s intelligence wing.

Explosives used in illegal mines in the state have been the source for terror attacks in several parts of the country in recent years.