Man arrested, 1400 kg of low-grade explosive substances seized

The police seized nearly 1,400 kg of low-grade explosive substances worth ₹1.1 lakh from a building on Azizuddin Road in the Mangaluru North Police limits on Monday.

The police arrested Ananda Gatty (50), a resident of Mudipu, who owned the place where the substances were stored. He was produced before a local magistrate who accepted the plea of the police and granted them custody of Gatty for two weeks. He has been accused of offences under the Explosive Substances Act and the Arms Act.

The seized explosive substances include 400 kg of white sulphur powder, 350 kg of potassium nitrate, 50 kg of barium nitrate, 395 kg of potassium chlorite, 260 kg of aluminium powder of different grades, 161 boxes of the banned .22 air pistol pellets, 30 kg lead balls and 240 kg of charcoal. The police have also seized weighing scale and weighing stone.

Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar said that as the city is sensitive, the police have been closely monitoring movement of explosive substances. The police intensified the watch after the explosion cases were reported in Chikkaballapur and Shivamogga districts.

Following a tip-off, the police raided the residential-cum-commercial building and recovered the explosive substances. In a recent case, the banned .22 air pistol pellets were used to kill a stray dog in the city. Investigation so far has revealed the use of these substances in quarries, fish ponds and for crackers.

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