Four held, tonne of explosives seized in Morbi illegal mining raid

Morbi: The Gujarat police have arrested four individuals and seized over a tonne of explosives along with 140 detonators, valued at Rs 1.03 lakh, during a raid at an illegal mining site in Wankaner taluka.

According to the Morbi Police Special Operations Group, the suspects had drilled around 57 holes, each 45 feet deep, in government wasteland located in Survey No.163/1/24. Gelatin sticks and detonators were found planted in 14 of these holes. After receiving a tip-off, the police raided the location in Tarakiya village and seized 418 gelatin sticks weighing 1,161 kg (1.16 tonnes), 140 detonators, and five mobile phones.

The arrested individuals were identified as Munna Bambhva, 36, Pradip Dhadhal, 25, Ravubhai alias Nagraj Sonara, 23, and Ranubhai Bambhva, 23. Munna and Ranubhai are residents of Tarakiya village, while Dhadhal and Sonara are from Mesariya village in Wankaner and Janivadla village in Surendranagar district, respectively.

The four have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 286 and 308, as well as the Explosives Substances Act, for possessing large quantities of explosives without a license. They were remanded to four-day police custody by a Wankaner court on Monday evening.

The police are also searching for two additional suspects, Lomku Khachar and Devayat Dangar, residents of Mesariya and Beti villages, respectively. DeshGujarat