High explosive found within UP Assembly
150 gm-powder packet left inside House was PETN: Yogi
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has sought a probe by the National Investigation Agency after forensic examination revealed that a white powder packet found inside the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday was actually a deadly explosive called PETN (Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate).
As soon as the state Assembly convened on Friday, the Chief Minister told the members that the white powder had been identified as the deadly PETN. The Union home ministry has sought a report from the state government.
Terming it as a possible terror conspiracy, the Chief Minister said that the packet had been discovered by the cleaning staff on Wednesday and was sent for forensic examination.
The forensic report that came in on Thursday night confirmed that the white powder was PETN that could trigger off deadly explosion if used with a detonator.
A little before midnight, the Chief Minister convened a high level meeting on security in view of the development.
“PETN is a highly dangerous explosive and the packet contained 150 grams of the powder. Experts say that only 500 grams is needed to blow up the Vidhan Sabha. Even the dog squad failed to trace the packet because it does not have any smell,” he said.
The packet was found during the cleaning of the Assembly by the staff. It was placed under the seat in the third row in the section allotted to the Samajwadi Party.
The Chief Minister said this incident could be in connivance with a terrorist or militant group and that the security of the state and the country is paramount.
Pentaerythritol Trinitrate is one of the most powerful, plastic explosives that looks like white powder It can easily pass metal detectors and security checks.
Even the dog squad failed to trace the packet because it does not have any smell.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has sought a probe by the National Investigation Agency after forensic examination revealed that a white powder packet found inside the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday was actually a deadly explosive called PETN (Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate).
The Chief Minister and then the Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit announced new security rules for the Assembly complex.
The Chief Minister said police verification of all employees of the Assembly would not be mandatory. He said that since the matter was serious, he would seek a NIA probe into the incident so that the culprit could be identified and punished.
Mr Yogi also regretted that despite being the Assembly of the biggest state in the country, the UP Vidhan Sabha, did not have a quick response team “This reflects the complacency of the governments on the issue of safety and security of over 500 legislators”, he said.
Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit ratified Mr Yogi’s demand for a NIA probe and said that QRT and PAC teams would be stationed on every gate of the Vidhan Sabha. Full body scanners and baggage scanners would also be set up at entry points. AntiTerror Squad teams would be allowed access into the Assembly complex.
He said all passes, except those of employees and MLAs were being cancelled and legislators would henceforth be allowed passes for only one vehicles and the driver of the vehicle would be verified by the MLA.
Passes of ex-legislators were also being cancelled and mobile phones have also been banned for legislators. Leader of Opposition R.G. Chaudhary said they accepted the security measures.