Nagpur: A 35-year-old labourer from Balod in Chhattisgarh was detained by Lakadganj police on Sept 1 after arriving in the city from Warora with three stolen mobile phones and two live detonators. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Nagpur, was informed immediately, and its team visited Lakadganj police station to collect details of the case.Rajendra Vishwakarma, a contract worker at the Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) coal mines in Warora, Chandrapur district, was intercepted at Azamshah Chowk while allegedly attempting to sell the phones.Police said Vishwakarma claimed unpaid wages had forced him to steal the contractor’s mobile phones to meet his daily expenses. He also picked up two live detonators from the same site before travelling by train from Chandrapur to Nagpur.A search conducted by a team led by senior inspector Mukund Kawade of Lakadganj police recovered the stolen items from his possession.The city police’s Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) examined the devices and confirmed they were live, following which the detonators were deactivated, packed and sealed, said zonal DCP Rahul Madane.They are being sent to the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Office of the Controller of Explosives, Nagpur, for technical examination and safe disposal.A case has been registered against Vishwakarma under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Arms Act and the Explosives Act. He has been arrested, and his police custody remand (PCR) has been recorded.Senior officers of WCL Warora and the concerned contractor are being questioned as part of the investigation. Police are probing how Vishwakarma obtained the detonators, what he intended to use them for, and why he brought live explosives to Nagpur.
