Two men arrested along with gelatin sticks and detonators near Taloja jail

MUMBAI: Two persons were arrested with a large quantity of gelatin sticks and detonators from Kalyan in the district, police said on Monday. Senior Inspector Sanju John of the Kalyan unit of Thane Crime Branch told PTI that Ashok Tamhane (28) and Samir Dhule (24) were arrested on Sunday, on the basis of a tip-off, from Khoni near Manpada on Taloja Road here. “The two had arrived at the spot around 5:30pm on Sunday on a scooter carrying gunny bags. The police team, along with a sniffer dog, stopped them and found 199 gelatin sticks and 100 detonators from the bags,” John said. The official said that the seized material had markings of a firm, based in Shivajinagar in Pune district, manufacturing slurry and emulsion explosives. These explosives, officials said, are used in canal construction, land levelling, mine quarrying and rock blasting. “A case under section 286 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Indian Explosives Act has been registered with Manpada police station,” the official said. He said that further investigations, to find out how the duo managed to procure these explosives, were underway.