Seven held with 6kg of uranium in India

JHARKHAND: In second such incident with a month, Indian police on Thursday arrested seven people for possessing and planning to sell uranium from the country’s Jharkhand state.

Police in Bokaro district of Jharkhand state said that they seized more than 6kg of uranium from two of the accused, however, they are yet to nab the leading suspect from whom the mineral was procured.

According to Telegraph India, the arrested individuals are said to be a part of an inter-state gang with a country wide network in dealing with Uranium. The special police team is conducting an investigation to find the link from whom the accused received the material.

“We have seized the “yellow coloured substance” and will send it to experts for testing. Uranium is a highly radioactive substance that is used in nuclear facilities,” SP Bokaro, Chandan Kumar Jha told Indian media.

Those arrested have been identified as Bapi Da also known as Bapi Chandra, Anil Singh, Deepak Kumar, Krishna Kant, Hare Ram Sharma, Mahavir Mahto and Pankaj Mahto. All are residents of the district.

Uranium, a rare element is highly radioactive and is used for making nuclear explosives.

Earlier on May 7, Indian police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had arrested two men with at least seven kilogrammes of natural uranium in Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra state.