Five held for illegally making firecrackers, country bombs in Erode

ERODE: The Thingalur police in Erode district arrested five people on Thursday for making country bombs without proper permission. A hunt is on for the owner of the manufacturing unit.
Thingalur sub-inspector, K Gunasekaran, said they received a tip about illegal bomb manufacturing and stocking at Ayyar Thottam. Police were then monitoring the area when they spotted a tiled roof house in a hideout. On entering the house, they found five people making crackers and country-made bombs. Those arresteed were S Vijayalakshmi, 35, K Mouleeswaran, 40, Sakunthala Mani, 42, B Divakar, 29 and P Periyasamy, 44, all from Thingalur and surrounding areas.
"The owner of the unit, Elango alias Shanmugam, 37, managed to escape when we entered the house," the SI said. Preliminary inquiry revealed that the main accused, Elango, had not obtained any permission to make firecrackers. "They have been making firecrackers and country made bombs without permission for several months," the SI said.
Those arrested by the police were questioned about where they had purchased the raw materials for making the firecrackers and bombs.
A case has been registered and further inquiry is on. The accused were remanded to 15-day judicial custody and lodged at the Coimbatore central prison.