With Republic Day just six days away, the Mumbai Police on Saturday arrested four people, including a woman, from two different locations in Andheri with 6.5 kg of the deadly explosive Trinitrotoluene (TNT).
The arrests were carried out by a team lead by encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma. The four have been identified as Sakhubai Dinkar Gaikwad (45), Gautam Govind Telore (42), Harishchandra Tukaram Telore (50) and Sanjay Vasant Pawar (35).
A source told DNA that Sakhubai Gaikwad had links with the Dawood gang, often having stood as surety for gang members. “Six months ago she stood surety for a Dawood sharpshooter,” he said.
While the police are tightlipped about how the TNT was procured, a senior officer of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) said the TNT was stolen from the Devlali Military Camp. “The TNT was smuggled out of the military camp; efforts are on to trace those involved,” he said.
Interestingly, Pawar’s father, who is deceased, used to work as a cook in the army camp and his family is known to have contacts among military personnel.
Additional Commissioner Bipin Bihari said the police are investigating if the explosive material was meant for any terrorist organisation. “But we are yet to establish any link of the accused persons with terrorist organisation or the Mumbai underworld,” he said.
The arrests were made on the basis of an intelligence tip-off the cops received some days ago that two people would be arriving at a bus stop close to the Andheri railway station with high quality explosives.
“A police team lay in wait, and at around 12.45am spotted Gaikwad and Gautam Telore. Constable Tanaji Desai immediately approached the duo who demanded money. He handed over a polythene bag containing fake and real Indian currency upon which the police converged upon the accused,” Bihari said.
The cops recovered 900 gm of TNT from their possession. On questioning, the duo led the police to a slum tenement located close by Teli Galli, from where two more accomplices were nabbed, along with over 5 kg of the explosives.
