Four persons were arrested for unauthorised possession of explosive materials at a dilapidated building at Purappuzha, near Thodupuzha, in Idukki on Saturday. The arrested are Jomon John (46) of Karimkunnam, Basil Joy (28) of Kanjikkuzhi, Saji Stephan (40) of Kottayam and Shibu Jose (49) of Thodupuzha.
According to Thodupuzha Deputy Superintendent of Police M.R. Madhu Babu, the police team seized 40 gelatin sticks, 36 electric detonators, starting machine, an earthmover and a jackhammer. “The accused have been booked under Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908,” said Mr. Babu.
According to the police, the explosives were illegally stored at the building located on a 10-cent land. “The landowner is a woman and we have not yet arrested her. The accused have no licence to keep the explosive items,” said Mr. Babu.
The police said that the landowner, identified as Pennamma John, initially obtained permission for the construction of a house. Later, the family approached the Mining and Geology department for removing rocks from the land for the house construction. “The department gave permission only for removing 92 metric tonnes of rocks from the place. But the landowner illegally blasted and extracted huge amounts of rocks from the spot with the assistance of a quarry lobby and transported these to other areas. The arrested include the son of the landowner” said a police official.
