Guwahati:
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police in a joint operation seized a huge cache of explosive materials from the Lumding Railway station in Assam’s Hojai district, on March 9.
One person, Johanming Thangsang Parate, a resident of Muolhoi, Haflong, has been arrested in connection with the seizure.
According to the police, the explosives – 580 pieces of gelatin sticks and three coils of fuse wire – were being transported from Shillong to Dimapur, Nagaland.
The Railways in a statement issued after the arrest, said that the consignment came to the notice of a joint team of RPF comprising SI DS Rajpoot and GRP staff of Lumding station, during a course of checking at Platform no 4.
“Security personnel noticed one person loitering suspiciously along with a bag near the waiting room. Rajpoot approached the person and directed that the bag be checked; but the person failed to reply properly. On checking the bag, 29 packets wrapped in plastic containing 20 sticks each, which totals to 580 pieces of sticks of suspected gelatin with three coiled of fuse wire, were found,” the release said.
Meanwhile, the apprehended person along with the recovered explosive substance was handed over to OC/GRP/Lumding for further legal action. “The police are examining the case. We are likely to conduct a search operation in Shillong also. But I believe the materials are used for blast mines, not for any extremist act,” GRP SP Manyak Kumar Jha said.