Rourkela: In a fresh development amid the unsolved case of an explosives-laden truck being hijacked by Maoists in Banko area under K Balang police station, Raghunathpali police Sunday seized two explosives-laden pickup vans near a petrol pump in Deogaon.
Initial estimates suggest the vehicles were loaded with nearly 4 tonnes of explosives. One of the vans was released after police verified its permit documents, while the second remains impounded due to suspected irregularities in its paperwork.
According to reports, both vehicles originated from a licensed explosives storage facility located under the jurisdiction of Itma police.
However, the facility had already been sealed before the incident, raising serious questions about how such a large quantity of explosives was still being transported. The driver of the detained van, along with Shravan Agrawal, the owner of the explosives factory, has been taken into custody for questioning.
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Officials from the state Goods and Services Tax (GST) department and other enforcement agencies were present at the scene. No formal case had been registered by the time when this report came in.
Sources said the police acted on a tip-off and raided the petrol pump in Deogaon around 12:30pm Sunday. The two vans, reportedly abandoned at the site for two days, had drawn suspicion from local residents, one of whom alerted the authorities.
While the van with valid documentation was released, the second vehicle was detained. Upon inspection, police recovered 116 gelatin sticks and detonators from the vehicle. Authorities noted that the transport did not appear to comply with standard operating procedures (SOPs).
PNN
