Seized detonators in Berhampur. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy

Berhampur, Sept. 19: The city police have seized 6,000 detonators from a private passenger bus and arrested five persons including four of the bus staff and Pintu Sethi, who brought the consignment from Andhra Pradesh last night.

“One hundred twenty bundles of detonators were concealed in two cartons and kept in the dicky of the private bus which was coming to Berhampur from Jeypore in Koraput district via Andhra Pradesh. The detonators were made at Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh,” said inspector in charge of Baidyanathpur police station Dipak Mishra.

“We have arrested Pintu Sethi, a resident of Redika Sahi in Ankuli, who brought the detonators from Andhra Pradesh. The other persons arrested include bus driver A. Rama Rao, conductor S. Krushnamurti, checker B. Rukmangada Rao and cleaner Bikas Bishoyi. They were all produced before the court today,” Mishra said.

The staff loaded the cartons packed with detonators knowingly, said the inspector. “We are in contact with our Andhra Pradesh counterparts,” he said.

The police have booked the five persons under sections 286, 336 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 4 and 5 of the Explosives Act.

The bus passed through Salur, Srikakulam, Palasa and Kasibugga in Andhra Pradesh and Sethi boarded the bus at Srikakulam with the detonators. He intended to bring it to Ankuli. “We have found that Pintu intended to sell these detonators to some illegal quarries,” said Pratik Mohanty, superintendent of police, Berhampur.

The police seized the bus when it was entering Berhampur through the NH-5 near Lanjipalli bypass.

“We stopped the bus during night patrolling and asked the driver to bring it to Kamapalli police station. We requested all the passengers to get down and conducted the search,” said a senior police officer.

The bus was intercepted by the police on a tip off. “The police kept a close watch on every passenger bus that entered into Berhampur since evening and we succeeded in tracking the bus carrying the detonators,” he said.

The police, however, ruled out Maoist link.