:: An estimated 24 sq km area in Thalassery in Kannur is the focus of a State-wide police crackdown on crude bomb-making.
Since June 8, at least two bomb squads equipped with the latest sensors have combed the area for “home-made” bombs, but with limited success.
The death of two ‘bomb makers,’ alleged to be CPI (M) activists, in an accidental detonation in Panoor on June 6 had prompted the drive. Comparable operations were under way in other “sensitive areas.” The incident, viewed against the backdrop of the political violence in Kannur, has raised the spectre of a resurgent “bomb culture” in Kerala. The operation, so far, has yielded at least a score of ‘steel bombs.’ The devices were found stowed away in crevices in mossy walls of wells and embankments in remote areas..
The bombs were almost uniformly fashioned out of a lethal mix of potassium chlorate, sulphur, aluminium powder and arsenic sulphide.
The mixture was pressure-packed into steel containers designed to fragment into lethal shrapnel when detonated by hurling the device against a resistant-surface. Rubble in the blend provided the friction for the explosion. No explosives with timers or remote triggers have been found so far. Last year alone, 443 cases were registered for criminal use of explosives in Kerala. The number till April this year is 147. The accused included political activists of varied hues, radical youth and gangsters.
The bombs discovered so far were low grade and fashioned entirely out of local material. However, their lethality cannot be ignored.
Investigators said Maoist irregulars in forests in North Kerala possessed remote-triggered bombs fashioned out of locally available ammonium nitrate and fuel oil.
Diversion of explosives
The drive was also aimed at preventing illegal diversion of explosives and fertilizers for bomb-making.
Currently, there were an estimated 2,700 licensees entitled to stock, sell or use explosives. They included firework units, religious bodies and granite miners. Their transactions would be audited. Additional Director General of Police, Intelligence, A. Hemachandran is heading the drive.
