Bhubaneswar, June 3: With the theft of huge quantity of explosives in Sundargarh and seizures of two illegal explosive –laden trucks here, the Odisha Police on Wednesday launched a massive crackdown on the explosive warehouses across Odisha.
In the first round, the police took up search and audit operations on the explosive vendors of the mines-abundant Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts.
According to sources, the Odisha Police are investigating stockpiles of explosive materials across multiple districts. It’s to uncover any illegal storage or irregularities amid increasing concerns over public safety and unlicensed explosive storage facilities.
Police and safety authorities are inspecting the stock and documents at multiple explosives warehouses.
In a major move, police teams raided a gunpowder factory at Nuapali under Bonai police limits. Additionally, inspections were conducted at 11 warehouse locations in Keonjhar district, including Ghatagaon, Barbil, Balani, Joda, and Rugudi.
“After the Rourkela incident, a drive was started to make the magazine owners aware, to ensure the procedures laid down in the Explosives Act, and to ensure safe transportation of explosives in the district,” Keonjhar SP, Kusalkar Nitin Dagdu said.
