'Rajasthan's biggest explosives haul': How a tip-off, late-night raid led to seizure of 10,000 kg of ammonium nitrate in Nagaur

NAGAUR: Just ahead of Republic Day celebrations on Monday, Nagaur police carried out a major operation under the Explosives Act, seizing nearly 10,000 kg of ammonium nitrate and other explosive material from a farmhouse and arresting one person in what officials described as the biggest such seizure in the state so far.

Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of the district special team (DST) and Thanwala police station raided a farmhouse built on agricultural land in Sarhad Harsaur village late on Saturday night. During the operation, police recovered 187 sacks containing 9,550 kg of ammonium nitrate, along with a large quantity of detonators, detonating wires, fuse wires and other blasting material commonly used in mining activities.




Nagaur superintendent of police Mridul Kachhawa said to news agency PTI the scale of the recovery made it a significant security intervention. “A major action was carried out by the district police. A very large quantity of explosive material was seized from one location. This is possibly the biggest operation under the Explosives Act in the state so far,” he said.

The accused, identified as Suleman Khan (58), a resident of Harsaur village, was arrested from the spot. Police said Khan had been illegally storing the explosive material at his farmhouse. The SP added that the accused has a criminal history, with three previous cases registered against him under the Explosives Act, though he was acquitted in one of them.

“A case has been registered against the accused under relevant provisions of the Explosives Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. We are interrogating him to ascertain the source of the explosives, their intended use and whether there are links to a larger supply network,” an officer involved in the investigation said.

Police have not ruled out the possibility that the explosives were being supplied for legal and illegal mining activities. Officials said the sheer volume of ammonium nitrate being stored at a single location posed a serious risk and could have led to devastating consequences if mishandled.

In view of the sensitivity of the seizure, central agencies have been informed and are expected to question the accused as part of a wider probe.
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