Bhubaneswar, July 10: Bombs and guns have become the weapons of choice for gangs operating in Bhubaneswar. This trend has disturbed both the police and the administration.

Sources in the police department said bomb-making units have been flourishing in Delanga, Pipli, Brahamagiri, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Nayagarh and Berhampur.

Even cracker-making units have been manufacturing bombs, though crude ones.

Five licensed cracker makers are operating on the outskirts of the city. They get the raw material from Berhampur, which is enough to make even lethal bombs, said sources.

A high-ranking police officer said most cracker makers divert their raw material to illegal bomb manufacturers. There are experts in areas like Delanga, Pipli and Kendrapara.

Though the city police claimed they had not spotted any illegal fire cracker unit in the city, on the eve of Diwali last October, two persons in the Kapialparasd area were killed while making crackers.

Cases of bombing have been on the rise. In the last week of June, two motorcycle-borne youths had hurled bombs at a shop in Siripur market injuring a shopkeeper. The prime accused, Makara Moharana, is absconding while his associate has been arrested.

Earlier, Makara had lobbed two bombs in the Baramunda area to terrorise local traders.

According to a senior police officer, criminals in the city have been using guns and bombs to terrorise their targets. Lately, police have arrested several dacoits, burglars and have seized firearms and bombs from them. In certain cases, even bomb-making material has been seized.

“It is the easy availability of bombs which makes their use frequent. Sometimes even powerful crackers are used to terrorise people,” said an officer.

Sources said that bombs usually reach the capital via Jatani, where there were many wholesale cracker dealers. Besides, some criminals manufacture bombs themselves.

A veteran bomb maker from Pipli said they use potassium nitrate, locally called barud, sulphur and charcoal that produce smoke. Besides, they add sharp nails, glass pieces and chips to the bombs, which cause maximum damage when they explode. He added that bomb makers use kerosene and petrol to set them on fire.

“Making a crude bomb costs between Rs 300 and Rs 400 and they are sold for Rs 500,” said a manufacturer.

Many lives have been lost while making bombs.

As a precautionary measure, these days the manufacturers put the processed material in a small closed container instead of packing and tying it with thread.

According to a police officer who has expertise in defusing bombs, high-intensity crackers and crude bombs look very similar. “The bombs have deadly ingredients like nails and glass pieces while crackers just produce a lot of sound,” said the officer.

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Nitinjeet Singh said the frequency of the use of bombs by criminals was still not alarming in the capital. Singh, who was earlier posted in Berhampur, where a large number of bomb-making units are located, said the bomb manufacturing industry was thriving in Ganjam district.

“Only a few incidents have taken place here. We are yet to come across any bomb-making units in the city,” said the DCP.

As for country-made pistols, a police officer said these come aplenty from Munger district of Bihar where there was an ordnance factory. Besides, illegal gun factories also function from Nayagarh, Dhenkanal and Rourkela.

In the past three years, the commissionerate police have seized more than 600 illegal guns.