MUMBAI: Different chemical powders weighing 24 kg seized from the Nalasopara house of arrested gau rakshak and Sanathan Sanstha sympathizer Vaibhav Raut are explosives and were enough to make 50-60 bombs.
The Anti-Terrorism Squad had seized 22 bombs, each weighing 500-600g, from Raut’s house. Investigators are now focusing on the larger terror conspiracy, and a senior IPS officer said the popular
Sunburn music festival, set to be held in November-December 2018, was also in the crosshairs of the busted terror module.
The
electronic dance music festival attended by lakhs is held near Pune. The ATS had told court earlier that the group planned to target the earlier edition of Sunburn, held on 28-31 December, 2017, as they consider it “anti-Hindu”, but developed cold feet.
The seized bombs were assembled a month before the Sunburn fest last December, said a source.
After recovering chemical powder during the raid in Nalasopara last month, the ATS had sent it to the state forensic science laboratory (FSL) at Kalina for chemical analysis.
A report submitted by it has confirmed that the powders are explosive by nature. Besides 18.5kg of a grainy, white powder, there are 150gm of nitrate and 3.5kg of
aluminium powder—both used to create impact in explosions— 1.5kg charcoal powder (used as a catalyst for burning) and 1.9kg sulphur (to enhance the burning energy).
The chemical powders were enough to make 50-60 bombs, sources said. The entire raw material was stored in Pune, however, since there was no immediate plan to prepare bombs and cause explosion, it was shifted to Nalasopara. The material would make low-intensity bombs, which are unlikely to cause widespread damage or loss of lives, but could have fanned terror.
The expiry of the bombs depends upon the climate, humidity, etc of the place where they are stored. "The seized bombs will be destroyed with court’s permission," the sources said. The ATS, which busted the terror module last month, has so far arrested nine suspects, including Raut, Sharad Kalaskar and former corporator Shrikant Pangarkgar, termed as the chief fund raiser.
They were planning blasts in five cities in the state, like Mumbai, Pune, Satara, and Sholapur, and had drawn up a hit-list of prominent personalities, including rationalist Narendra Dabholkar’s daughter Mukta, activist Shyam Manav, and NCP MLA Jitendra Ahvad. The group wanted to target those who spoke against Hinduism or portrayed Hindus in a poor light, said police sources.
“Most of the accused were social media-savvy and were very active. We are scanning their social media profiles and posts. It will give us more information about the suspects and their ideology,” said a source.
Representative image.
