Kozhikode: Like households who sun-dry vegetables for a tasty lunch snack, party supporters in Kannur dry neatly wrapped gun powder mixed with sulphur and potassium in the backyards of their houses and keep them ready in secret places.
Those who make them, catch a bus to Mahe and purchase freely available gun powder spending Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. They then purchase sulphur and potassium to increase the explosive potential of the bombs.
Sources told DC that even school children were experts in making country bombs in Kannur and the tragedy that happened in Panoor was when youths mixed the chemicals for making bombs.
“Everyone knows that bombs are freely available in Kannur and we do crack down on such units when we get information about such activities. In the last four months, we have had several cases of country bomb seizure. However, it is difficult to contain this problem as the raw materials are freely available and there is no regulation on sales of such items,” Pratheesh Kumar, ASP, Kannur told Deccan Chronicle.
Every police station in Kannur and Thalassery areas, especially in the Panoor belt, has registered cases after seizing country bombs.
Though the Explosives Substances Act is being used for prosecuting these accused, which warrants an imprisonment of upto 20 years, there is not even one case in the history of Kannur which has led to conviction and punishment.
“When we detect such cases, we need to get government sanction to test these chemicals in the State Forensic Laboratory and get the results for prosecution. This takes a minimum of six to seven years. So most of the cases escape proper legal scrutiny,” P N Unnirajan, Kannur SP told DC.
According to CPM party cadres based in Kannur, country bombs have been used as a defensive weapon and for attacking their political opponents.
In almost all political murders in Kannur and nearby areas, country bombs are hurled at the target before hacking them to death.
“It is part of our political culture. Not only CPM, but both Congress and RSS in Kannur use these country bombs. If we do not make it then we are losing out in strength,” a local party member told DC.
He says there have been several cases of unreported blasts that cause grievous injuries to the makers of bombs. “Several guys have lost their limbs in such blasts and many of them go unreported,” another resident of Kannur said.
He says police seldom get access to these areas as most of these units operate in party villages. “Party cadres make them in areas where they are more in number than their political opponents. So whatever happens inside, remains inside,” he added.
