Car With 100 KG RDX seized

Stolen car intercepted near Magam, was headed for Srinagar?

Srinagar - Death and devastation on a large scale was averted today when the police recovered 100 kilograms of RDX from a stolen Maruti car near Magam in the Baramulla district. The driver of the car was apprehended while two other occupants managed to escape.

"The RDX was concealed in a trunk and was fitted with two live grenades fixed to detonators/' Inspector General of Po-lice, Kashmir, Javed Mukhdoomi, said at a hurriedly-called press conference this evening. A wireless Set was also found along with the explosives.

Police immediately called the bomb disposal squad who neutralised the explosive material.

"There is a possibility that the car was being driven to Srinagar for a bombing," he said, adding that a major tragedy had been averted.

The recovery was made during routine checking near Magam when a blue Maruti 800 Was stopped by line police at around 6 PM Tuesday evening. The three occupants of the car made a break for it, but one of them, the driver, identified as Zahoor Ahmad of Hanjiwera, Pattan, was caught at Mazhama on the Srinagar-Magam road after the police gave chase, the IGP said.

The car (original registration number JKE 6394) was fitted with a false number plate (DL3C 8177). It had been stolen a few days ago from Aripathan, and an FIR stands lodged in the Beeru police station, the IGP said. The interrogation of the driver was going on. 'Seizure a major breakthrough'

The Centre today described the seizure of an explosive-laden car and the arrest of its driver on Srinagar1 Gulmarg Highway a major breakthrough in the investigations into a spate of bomb blasts in the recent past. "This is a major breakthrough and we are hopeful that the security forces will be able to bust the militant network carrying out these attacks," a senior Home Ministry official said.