Mumbai: The Raigad police seized 965 detonators and 46 gelatin sticks from a person in Mangaon taluka after a low intensity blast was reported in a field that left two persons injured last month. The police registered a case on August 31 and began a search that led to a person who had been staying in Dhalghar village in Mangaon and was in possession of the explosives. The officials said that the accused had allegedly procured the explosives from Ratnagiri and they were to be used for in quarries. The arrested accused is supplier of the explosives to the quarries, officials said.
The arrested accused was identified as Mohammad Umar Zahir Kazi, who had been staying in the village since past few months. The investigators said that after he came there, some fishermen allegedly took the sticks for using them in ‘blast fishing,’ which is an illegal activity.
The duo who later approached the police stating they were injured in the explosion in the field, are fishermen and they are likely to have been injured while using the explosives in the sea on August 31. The police recorded their complaint and began investigation in the incident that led them to Kazi.
“When we searched his residence in Dhalghar village, we found the explosives which were kept without taking requisite precautions. When he was questioned, he revealed that he supplies them to the quarries for stone crushing,” said Vikram Jagtap, inspector and investigating officer attached with the Mangaon police station.
The police found 965 detonators, 46 gelatine sticks with 90 power, 25/125 explosive material stashed in a drum. The police said that the claims made by the complainant and the other person, both injured, do not seem to be real.
“The material cannot explode just by touching and explosion can only take place while handling it. We suspect that the duo, who are fishermen, were using them for blast fishing when they got injured,” added Mr Jagtap.
The police are probing Kazi and have also arrested another person who supplied the explosives to him.
