Kerala explosive haul: 8,000 gelatin sticks found abandoned in Palakkad

TIL Desk/National/Palakkad/ A large number of explosives were found in Palakkad’s Ongalloor in Kerala on Thursday, police said. The seized explosives include 8,000 gelatin sticks stacked in 40 boxes. These were found abandoned near a quarry in Vadanakkurissi, near Shornur in the Palakkad district.

The police said that they were informed about the explosives by locals and it is suspected that the gelatine sticks were to be used for breaking rocks in quarries. A case has been registered in this connection and an investigation has been launched, Police said.

In November 2000, police had seized 7,500 detonators and 7,000 gelatin sticks from a mini lorry from Palakkad’s Walayar. Those explosives were hidden along with several cartons of tomatoes which were being transported from Erode in Tamil Nadu to Angamaly in Ernakulam district.

A video clipping of the consignment had shown the gelatin sticks, light pink in colour, wrapped in plastic sheets.  In September 2020, two migrant workers in Kalady, Ernakulam, lost their lives after explosives stored illegally in a building near a quarry burst. The explosives substances were reportedly stored without permits for the purpose of blasting rocks for mining.