The police have recovered one more ‘pipe bomb’ from the private cement factory on the outskirts of the city, from where two similar explosives were recovered on June 22.
They said two pipe bombs were recovered from the private factory at Shankar Nagar on June 22.
A few hundred permanent employees and over a thousand contract labourers were working in the factory, which is supplying construction material to various parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The management had to recently stop a few hundred contract labourers from attending work following instructions from the State Government that all manufacturing units would be allowed to function with a minimum workforce in the wake of COVID-19.
The factory allegedly received phone calls from a few unidentified persons warning that improvised explosives would go off at 5 places in the factory if they were not given the compensation of ₹ 50 lakh. The Thaazhaiyooththu police checked the factory premises with the help of Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad that led to the recovery of 2 ‘pipe bombs’ kept near the lift in the production section of the plant on June 22.
Superintendent of Police N. Manivannan, who visited the cement factory, conducted comprehensive check on the plant premises and deployed police personnel there. After examination by the experts, the improvised explosives were defused.
Subsequently, the police arrested Arumugam, 29, of Thaazhaiyooththu, Saleem of Pettai near here, and electrician Bhairavan, 32, of Thirumangalam near Madurai. When the trio was grilled, they told the police that they had planted one more pipe bomb near the Central Control Unit of the factory, which was recovered on Saturday and defused at the Armed Reserve Police Ground here.
