The Government Railway Police (GRP) on Monday recovered four bags of explosives containing gelatine sticks, detonators and fuse wire from two places 60 km apart.
The explosives are suspected to have been transported for illegal mining or for fishing in hill rivers, but the police have not ruled out the possibility of their use for subversive activities by extremist groups.
A GRP officer said that three of the bags were recovered from the Guwahati railway station’s platform number 3 around 5.45 am, when the Awadh Assam Express was waiting there.
“We found 440 gelatine sticks in 22 packets, 700 detonators in seven packets and three bundles of fuse wire,” he said.
Another bag containing 160 gelatine sticks in eight packets and 500 detonators in five packets was later found near the toilet of the AC II-tier coach of the same train at Jagiroad, about 60 km east of Guwahati.
The police have registered a case. “We are looking for clues that could lead to the couriers of the explosives,” an officer said.
Industrial use
Gelatine sticks, usually transported clandestinely, are often used for blasting in mining areas or road construction in the hills. Such explosives are also used for fishing in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and the hill areas of Assam.
