Ragpickers could have stashed ammo

PUNE, April 9: The city police and their counterparts in the rural areas are yet to file a case about the recovery of a bomb and cartridges found at Kondhwa on Wednesday. They claimed that their jurisdiction did not cover the area where the cache was found.

Meanwhile, the State Intelligence Bureau has launched a probe into the matter. Involvement of some ragpickers is suspected in hiding the cache. Two bomb shells and over 150 cartridges were found hidden in the undergrowth behind the R K Industries at Kondhwa Budruk. A team of city police led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Crime Ramrao Pawar visited the spot around midnight and recovered a bomb and several cartridges which was handed over to the bomb detection and disposal squad. Pawar said preliminary investigations have revealed that seizure did not have firing capacity. The cache has been sent for analysis.

DCP Pawar suspected that they may have been picked up by a ragpicker from a firing range. He may have hidden the haul after scrap dealers refused to buy them, he added.

According to Pawar, the rural police were asked to probe the matter since the area where the cache was found fell under the jurisdiction of Haveli police station. The Haveli police denied that it was under their jurisdiction. A team of Haveli policeyesterday visited the spot.