Lucknow, Dec 9 (IANS) Three men were arrested with nearly 150 kg of ammonium nitrate, 95 detonators and 2,500 feet length of fuse wires in Uttar Pradesh, police said Wednesday.
The men were arrested from Shankergarh area of the Allahabad district that borders Madhya Pradesh.

“People are given license in Shankergarh area to procure and use explosives for blasting purpose but there are a number of criminals involved in illegal smuggling of huge quantities of explosives from Madhya Pradesh. The three are being interrogated to ascertain from where they brought the explosives,” police Inspector D.K. Soni told reporters in Allahabad, some 200 km from Lucknow.

Police suspect the three men were smuggling the explosives to the state’s Mirzapur district.

“The three arrested are giving contradictory statements. There may be a possibility that they were transporting explosives for the Naxalites (Maoists),” said Soni.