2,550 kg ammonium nitrate recovered from Bankura

Kolkata: Police recovered around 2,550 kg of ammonium nitrate from an abandoned building at Saltora in Bankura on Friday morning.

Acting on a tip-off, the police from the local police station conducted a raid in the abandoned building and seized the huge quantity of ammonium nitrate.

A police officer said that they found 51 plastic bags in the abandoned house situated off Bhantala-Kanuri Road. Each of the bags contained around 50 kg of ammonium nitrate.

The police are, however, yet to ascertain why such a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate, which is also used to make explosives, was stored in the abandoned building.

The police officer said that it is also used in explosives to break rocks. It is also used for agriculture as well. The police are trying to find the actual reason for which the chemical was brought there and was lying unclaimed when the police went to the spot.

The police also asked local people if they had stored it for agricultural purposes.

The police also came to know that one Shyamali Mandal, who is also the resident of Saltora, was the owner of the abandoned place where the bags containing ammonium nitrate was found.

Police suspect that the materials were brought there illegally and stocked in the abandoned place without any permit.

As a result a case under various sections of the Explosive substance act has been started.

The police are probing to find out the person who had actually supplied the material and whether the consignment was about to go from Saltora or if it was brought there for some untoward incident in the district itself.

The police questioned some local people to know when the bags containing ammonium nitrate was brought to the place and whether it was brought after midnight.