1-kg RDX seized in Dinanagar

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Dinanagar (Gurdaspur), Dec 1

The police today seized 1 kg of RDX from an undisclosed place falling under the Dinanagar police station in Gurdaspur district. Officers claimed the person who planted it there had links with Pakistan.

The RDX, a white-coloured solid, has no taste or smell. It is said that it has more energy and is more explosive than the TNT. Police sources said 1 kg of the RDX was enough to bring destruction in a radius of 50 m.

Two days ago, the Gurdaspur police had nabbed Sukhwinder Singh from a check-post set up in Dinanagar. SSP Nanak Singh said his officers had put the accused under sustained interrogation, following which he disclosed that he had planted the RDX. The police did not disclose the exact place from where the seizure was made. “We are not in a position to disclose anything right now. However, one thing is certain that Sukhwinder has links with agencies based in Pakistan,” said an officer.

In yet another incident which may be linked with the RDX seizure, the Gurdaspur police had on Sunday arrested two persons with a revolver from a place falling under the Bhaini Mian Khan police station. The police are investigating whether these persons have any links with Sukhwinder.

On November 22, the twin districts of Gurdaspur and Pathankot were put on a high alert after two unidentified motorcycle-borne persons lobbed a low-intensity hand grenade at the Army camp in Pathankot.

Nanak Singh ruled out any link between Sukhwinder and the persons involved in the Pathankot attack.

This is the second time in the last six years that the RDX has been seized from Dinanagar. On July 27, 2015 three Pakistan-based heavily armed Lashkar-e-Taiba militants had walked their way into the local police station from across the border. An eight-hour gun battle between the police and terrorists ensued, in which all three were killed. Before entering the police complex, the militants had planted 5.7 kg of RDX near Jakholarhi on the Pathankot-Gurdaspur rail track. The detonator needed to blast the RDX somehow got delinked, following which the explosive had failed to go off.

The then Pathankot SSP Rakesh Kaushal led a team of officers that had seized the explosives.