200 crude bombs found in village near Kudankulam
Kudankulam police arrested 58 fishermen from both sides
Tirunelveli: In a major haul, around 200 country-made bombs were found on Saturday at the coastal hamlet of Koothankuli in Tirunelveli district. They were buried in the sandy shore in three buckets in an insulated plastic icebox.
The unearthing of the country bombs created a flutter in the region as the shore where the bombs were stocked is close to the critical nuclear power station at Kudankulam.
Police interrogation of a suspect, Santa Cruz (32), son of Santiago, and whom Kudankulam police arrested, revealed the illegal stocking of the explosives.
Following this, Kudankulam police along with the bomb detection and disposal squad personnel led by Valliyoor DSP Balaji, conducted a massive search operation at 28 spots at the beach in Koothankuli and unearthed around 200 country-made bombs. The bombs were taken to Kudankulam where the bomb squad personnel defused them in a secluded place, sources said.
According to police, Koothankuli has experts in crude bomb making. Illegal business picked up at Koothankuli, which about three decades ago, supplied bombs to the entire southern region upto Ramanathapuram, to be used for destructive fishing.
After fishing by bombing was strictly banned, bombs manufactured in this coastal hamlet were supplied for many illegal activities, not only in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, but also in Kerala, said police. Local fishermen’s factions also use bombs made in their villages against each other. During one such attack on June 9 this year, two fishermen’s groups used 60 bombs against each other, injuring four men and damaging a few houses and a police jeep.
Meanwhile, Kudankulam police arrested 58 fishermen from both sides. In the raid following the clash in the village on June 13, police also seized around 300 bombs buried in the shore. It may be recalled that six persons, including children and women were killed two years ago at the Tsunami colony at Idinthakarai, a nearby coastal hamlet, in an explosion that occurred in the process of making bombs.
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