Each crate contained around 20 kg explosives and some included gelatine rods and other materials, officials said. The explosives were meant to extract limestone in the mines of Khrew on the outskirts of Srinagar.The recovery of several hundred kilograms of explosives, stolen from a stone quarry in South Kashmir's Awantipora district, earlier this month has set off alarm bells in the security establishment in Kashmir.
Investigators seized 20 crates of explosives from fields near the quarry and questioned 10-12 people. Each crate contained around 20 kg explosives and some included gelatine rods and other materials, officials said. The explosives were meant to extract limestone in the mines of Khrew on the outskirts of Srinagar.
The haul is significant, especially as it comes after February's Lethpora attack, in which an explosives-laden vehicle detonated on the Srinagar-Jammu highway killing 40 CRPF personnel. In another incident in June, an IED targeted an Army vehicle in Arihal area of Pulwama, in which two jawans were killed and four injured.
Police in the Valley have been on alert for IED devices. While some modules have been busted in recent months, the alert for improvised devices is still in place.
After the explosives were seized in Awantipora, the police are in a quandary about its storage. Awantipora SP Tahir Saleem Khan told The Indian Express, “About 20 crates of explosives were stolen from the magazine (storage infrastructure for…
