Contractor held over gelatin sticks found near Almora school
Prashant Bisht had ordered the gelatin sticks in 2018 for road construction; they were discarded by his landlord while vacating a rented room
Champawat, Nov 26 (PTI) Police have arrested a contractor in connection with the recovery of gelatin sticks, an explosive material, from bushes near a school last week in Uttarakhand's Almora district, officials said on Wednesday.
Contractor Prashant Bisht, a resident of Champawat, had ordered gelatin sticks seven years ago for breaking rocks during the construction of a road, but his landlord later threw them out while vacating the room, Almora Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Devendra Pincha said.
Bisht was arrested on Tuesday and sent to jail, Pincha said, adding that police are searching for the person who brought the gelatin sticks.
A total of 161 cylindrical gelatin sticks were recovered from bushes on the school premises of the Government Higher Secondary School, Dabhra, located in the Salt area, on November 21.
The case came to light when the school's acting principal, Subhash Singh, spotted some suspicious packages in the bushes and alerted the police.
Upon receiving the information, police arrived at the scene, cordoned off the area, and called in bomb disposal squads and sniffer dogs from Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital districts.
According to the police, during the search, a few packages were recovered from one location, followed by several more 15–20 feet away. A total of 161 gelatin sticks were recovered from these packages.
Following the recovery of the sticks, the police moved the gelatin packets to a safe location and sealed them. Four teams were formed to investigate the matter after a case was registered under Section 4(a) of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, and Section 288 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
During the investigation, it was discovered that in 2016-17, contractor Bisht had taken a contract to build a three-kilometre road in the Salt area. In 2018, he had ordered gelatin sticks to break rocks in the way, the SSP said.
He added that Bisht had rented a room in a house near the school and had stored packets of gelatin sticks there. When the room was vacated about two months ago, his landlord threw the sticks along with the junk into the nearby bushes.
After the contractor's arrest, efforts are underway to find his partner, who had brought the gelatin sticks, Pincha said. PTI