500 Kg Explosives Seized Ahead Of CM Yogi’s Bahraich Visit; 70 Detained

In a major security breakthrough just days before Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s scheduled visit to Chittora in Bahraich on June 10, authorities seized nearly 500 kilograms of explosives. Along with the cache, 70 individuals mostly from Bengal were taken into custody in connection with the case.

The explosives were uncovered near Sikandarpur village in the Hardi area, where a petroleum company was conducting what was reportedly a survey. However, villagers suspected that the operation was a cover-up for planting ammonium nitrate explosives around the village outskirts and alerted Mahasi MLA Sureshwar Singh. Despite the villagers’ early warnings to local officials, no immediate action was taken, as per Jagran.com reported.

Upon escalation to higher government levels, a thorough crackdown was launched. Investigations revealed that around 200 people had entered several villages in the Hardi region three days earlier. They arrived in three vehicles, claiming to be on a wolf search expedition, but instead drilled boreholes within a 20-kilometre radius across villages including Sadhupur, Lakhanpur, Balasray, Orahi, and Sikandarpur to plant explosives.

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The situation intensified on Sunday when local residents, alarmed by the suspicious activity, gathered en masse. MLA Sureshwar Singh and his supporters reached the site and informed police and administrative officials. A vehicle loaded with ammonium nitrate was also recovered. However, Singh accused the local police station chief, Sanjay Singh, of attempting to forcibly reclaim the vehicle from villagers despite the gravity of the explosives seizure. District authorities were informed but were slow to respond.

Following intervention by senior officials such as the ASP Rural, ADM, and SDM, investigations deepened. MLA Singh expressed serious concerns that finding such a massive quantity of explosives less than 36 hours before the Chief Minister’s event could indicate a deliberate conspiracy.

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Earlier, Ganga Prasad, Commandant of the SSB’s 42nd Battalion, had alerted security agencies about the possible infiltration of 37 individuals including Bangladeshis and Rohingyas through the Nepal border into Bahraich. Despite the warning, the authorities failed to take timely action.