Maoists loot 16 tonnes of ammonium nitrate

NEW DELHI: Maoists on Tuesday looted 16 tonnes of ammonium nitrate from a truck on its way from Visakhapatnam to Chhattisgarh, adding to fears that the stolen explosives may be used to trigger bigger and more powerful IED/landmine blasts in the days to come.

Though the truck was looted near Jagdalpur at 9 pm on Tuesday, a complaint was lodged by the driver only 24 hours later. The fact that Maoists were aware that the truck was carrying ammonium nitrate has also led to suspicion that the transporter or supplier of the explosive, commonly used in fertiliser, may have willingly parted with the explosives, possibly to fulfil an extortion demand.

It is against this background that MHA has decided to advise the state government to book the transporter and chemical company behind the consignment for violation of basic explosives handling rules that require police to be informed each time ammonium nitrate is to be transported.

“We will recommend action against the chemical company for flouting guidelines. This is the only way of ensuring strict compliance of guidelines regarding explosives handling and transpiration by private chemical manufacturers,” said a senior MHA official.

A similar incident in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli, in March, when a explosives-laden truck was waylaid by Maoists while on way from Keltech Energy in Nagpur to the NMDC unit in Chhattisgarh, had sent security agencies into a tizzy.

Agencies combed the forests and also carried out aerial surveillance but could not trace the stolen explosives, which the truck driver said were unloaded over several hours and carried away by Maoists.

MHA had written to the Maharashtra government to book the company behind the explosives consignment looted at Gadchiroli for failure to inform the police in advance of the transportation.