Three held in Hapur with explosives; police probe Delhi blast link

Hapur (UP), Three persons were arrested from two separate locations in the district for allegedly carrying 46 kg of hydrofluoric acid and 2.5 kg of explosives without authorisation, police said on Wednesday.

The arrests came amid heightened security checks following the blast in Delhi, they said.

The police are also probing if these recoveries have any link to the Delhi blast case or the seizure of explosives in the Faridabad terror module, they added.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Vineet Bhatnagar said police intercepted a man standing near the Hinalapur Bamba culvert in the Pilkhuwa area late Tuesday evening during routine checking.

The man, identified as Shoaib, a resident of Kanth in Moradabad district, was carrying a large plastic can.

On questioning, he reportedly told police that the container held 38 kg of hydrofluoric acid, which he had purchased from an unidentified person an hour earlier without any documents or permit.

"As his replies were inconsistent, he was taken into custody for detailed questioning," the ASP said.

An official said hydrofluoric acid is a highly corrosive industrial acid used mainly for etching, cleaning and fluorination but it is not a common component of explosives.

However, it is "extremely hazardous", tightly regulated in many places and any suspicious purchase or use should be reported to authorities, the local official said.

In a separate incident on Wednesday morning, a police team checking vehicles at Paratappur crossing in the same area stopped two men walking with bags slung over their shoulders. Sub-Inspector Sunil Kumar said the inspection of their bags led to the recovery of 2.5 kg of explosive material.

The duo, identified as Shobhit Kumar and Vijendra Singh, both residents of Sitapur, told police they had procured the material from a company in Hisar, Haryana, to drive away stray animals from fields.

Police were yet to disclose the nature of the explosives seized from the duo.

ASP Bhatnagar said all three accused are being interrogated, and further investigation is underway to verify their claims and the source of the substances.

On November 10, a high-intensity explosion occurred in a slow-moving Hyundai i20 car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort Metro Station, killing at least 12 people and injuring around 20 others.

The car explosion was directly linked to a major terror module uncovered in Faridabad days earlier.

The items recovered in Faridabad included a massive cache of bomb-making materials and weapons. Approximately 2,900 kg of explosive material, including over 350 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate, was seized in the catch.