Balangir: Police on Thursday arrested three persons, including the BJP's Kantabanjhi town president Murari Lal Agrawal, in connection with illegally trading in explosives.

The other two arrested are Murari Lal's son Mahesh and one Sudam Mahaling.

On Tuesday night, a police team raided a godown of Mahaling at Sadaipali in Balangir sadar police limits and seized huge cache of explosives, including ammonium nitrate packets, gelatin powder and detonators.

Sources said the cost of the seized explosives was around Rs 8 lakh. The cops also seized Rs 2.32 lakh in cash from the gowdown.

In a simultaneous raid, the police seized explosives worth about Rs 2 lakh from Mahesh's godown at Dunguripali in Belpada police limits.

The police said the seized explosives had been sold to Mahaling by Mahesh.

Among the seized explosives were 106 bundles of safety fuse, 38 bags of ammonium nitrate, 83kg gelatin powder, 13,527 electrical detonators, 35,770 non-electrical detonators, 15kg charcoal powder and 15kg suphur powder.

The police have registered a case under section 5 of the Explosive Substance Act, 1908, against the two accused in Balangir.

Another case has been registered against the other accused Murali Lal Agrawal at Belpada police station. Balangir sub-divisional police officer Narayan Naik said the accused were illegally trading in explosives.

"Mahaling was carrying out the business of explosive illegally and he doesn't possess a licence. Mahesh, too, couldn't provide any documents to prove he had a licence to trade in explosives. Both used to illegally supply explosives to stone quarries operating in the district. We will produce the accused in court," Naik said.