Explosives seized near Nepal border

SILIGURI, May 30: A powerful explosive device connected with a timer was recovered last night from one Abbas Ali, a resident of Kamargunj, North Dinajpur district at the Mechi bridge near the Nepal border around 30 Km from Siliguri.  The Kharibari police and the Sashastra Seema Bal personnel nabbed the man at around 10 pm last night. According to the police, the explosive weighs around 2.5 Kgs. Four detonators and some raw material for producing four more bombs were also recovered from the arrested man’s person. The police are investigating into the findings and the nature of the explosive is yet to be ascertained. The arrested person is also being questioned.

The deputy superintendent of police Siliguri, Mr Pradip Dutta today said that Abbas Ali was heading for Nepal, crossing the Mechi Bridge. “He was coming from Islampur in North Dinajpur, though originally he is a resident of Kamargunj in the same district. The motive of carrying the time device into Nepal is not yet clear to us. An investigation is going on,” the DSP added.

The second officer in-charge, Kharibari police station Mr Chinmoy Bhattacharya said that the timer device was deposited at the Army Camp, Sukna and defused. The police are not yet certain whether the arrested person is linked with any Bangladesh-based terrorist outfit or not but are not ruling out the possibility.“The arrested man is perhaps a supplier of explosives. We are, however, keeping all angles open,” Mr Bhattacharya said. [The Statesman]