Source: sumir2007*
Guwahati, October 31 2009:
The sleuths of Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offences (BIEO) seized a truck load of fertilizers that included urea and ammonium nitrate while being illegally transported from West Bengal to Barpeta in lower Assam.
The seizure has raised suspicion about easy availability of ammonium nitrate which is increasingly being used by extremist groups in the Northeast for preparing explosives to carry out explosions.
According to BIEO sources, the truck was seized on Friday night from Bongaigaon, about 250-kilometers from here after it crossed the Assam-Bengal interstate border check gate at Srirampur.
The seized consignment included 800 bags of urea and ammonium nitrate weighing about 40 tons.
Sources said the fertilizers meant for distribution among Bengal farmers at subsidized rates by government were being illegally transported to Assam.
The BIEO also arrested the driver and helper of the truck (AS-16-4496) which has been brought here for investigations.
'We seized the consignment as the fertilizers were being transported with out any papers.
We suspect that there is a racket of illegal business of fertilizers from West Bengal.
But we can not rule out the possibility of the ammonium nitrate being supplied to militants for preparing explosives.
We are probing to find out the details,' BIEO sources said.
The BIEO sleuths have identified the owner of the truck at Srirampur where the consignment was loaded on October 28 last.
They are interrogating the driver to unravel the racket.
Ammonium nitrate, although is attached to agriculture, has become an object of terror with militants in the region using for explosions.
According to forensic experts, ammonium nitrate is converted into powerful explosives when it is mixed with fuel as was done in the serial blasts in Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Guwahati last year.
Investigations into the devastating explosions in Tripura and the serial bomb blasts in Assam on October 30 last year had revealed that bombs comprised of ammonium nitrate, fuel oil and RDX.
Ammonium nitrate acts as an accelerant which in turn speeds up the rate at which the fuel burns, producing a huge explosion.
* The sender of this news can be contacted at sumir2007(at)gmail(dot)com .