Mumbai, Apr 8: Kolhapur police in Maharashtra have discovered a bomb making factory in the Lakshmi Hill near the MIDC area of the Kagal town.
Kolhapur police also arrested four suspected Hindutva terrorists, who are in their 20s. They have been identified as Ajinkya Manohar Bhopade(22) and Aniket Bhivaji Mali(22) from Chokak village in Hatkananagale, Nilesh Babanrao Patil (20) from Male Mudshingi, in Hatkanangale and Anil Popat Kharase (26) from Kabnur-Ichalkaranji in Hatkanangale. All four were remanded to police custody till April 14 by a Kagal court on Sunday evening.
Refuting any political or extremist hand behind the bombs the four made, Kolhapur district superintendent of police Manojkumar Sharma said that the youths were "trying to make easy money". The police confiscated four live bombs and equipment worth Rs 25,69,575. The bombs confiscated were ones that could be detonated with a remote control, Sharma said.
The police are also investigating whether the bomb-making attempt had any connections with BJP candidate Narendra Modi's proposed rally in Sangli on April 9.
"On primary investigation, nothing suspicious has been found about the youths and their connections. The police got the tip of about the bomb-making some days back. Undercover policemen made an offer of Rs 8 lakh to the bomb-makers, who agreed to sell the bombs," Sharma said.
A police team led by inspector Chandrakant Shinde of Kagal police station was first tipped off with information on the quartet making bombs and trying to sell them. Local informants told the police that two youths were keen to sell an explosive and that they had already bought material required for making a bomb. "After confirming the tip, we decided to lay a trap for the gang. The bomb makers were called for a meeting on the Kolhapur-Banglore national highway-4, just outside Kagal town. We detained all four involved and confiscated material," Shinde said.
The confiscated material include gelatin sticks, remotely handled switches, remote control devices, five screw drivers, steel clips, wire-cutters, hacksaws, scissors, hammers, buzzers, door bells, six battery cells, power control equipment, energy circuit wiring, switch cord and paper pieces with diagram notes, among others. The police did not reveal who sourced the gelatin sticks and from where.
The bombs were diffused at an open space in Shahunagar area of Kagal tehsil.
"Patil and Kharase have been arrested for supplying material for bomb-making, while Bhopade and Mali have been arrested for making the bombs. Bhopade has a diploma in electronics; Mali works as a wireman. Their idea was to make bombs using their knowhow and parts available at any hardware shop. They actually made sophisticated devices, using the machinery of the electronic locking system of a luxury car for detonation," Sharma said.
"I have personally informed the Intelligence Bureau and Anti-Terrorism Squad about the development, bomb making style and use of gelatin sticks. The police have also arrested those who sold the sticks to these boys. Gelatin sticks are widely used in Kolhapur district for digging wells and in the mining sector. But these cannot be sold loosely," Sharma said.
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