Watchman who allegedly sold uranium arrested

The Panvel crime branch arrested a watchman of a scraphouse in connection with the theft of Uranium-238 that had been found...

The Panvel crime branch arrested a watchman of a scraphouse in connection with the theft of Uranium-238 that had been found,last week,with three men without the authority to handle the protected material.

The police said the watchman might not have known that depleted uranium is a protected commodity. He allegedly pilfered a five-kilo ball and sold it to the other three accused,arrested earlier: Premsingh Tangayan Savitri of Panvel,Venkatchalapathi of Vashi,and Tulsidas Bhanushali of Ghatkopar. They were allegedly trying to sell it off to a third party.

Commissioner Gulabrao Pol said the investigation is in progress. All four accused are in police custody.

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Sources said the quantity seized was very small and could not have been used for any hazardous activity. It did not have radioactive features either. The probe is looking at the possibility of an unauthorised market dealing in equipment that require Uranium-238.

A complaint has been registered under the Atomic Energy Act,considering that pilfering of uranium in any form is an offence. The satellite city and many places around New Mumbai have many scraphouses that get huge quantities of scrap from abroad. Experts at BARC say this is not the first instance uranium has been found in scrap.

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