Two policemen injured in crude bomb explosion in Arakkonam

They were searching the house of a ganja seller

Two policemen of Arakkonam were injured when a crude bomb exploded in a house on Thirumalai Archari Street in Arakkonam town near Ranipet on Sunday.

Based on an alert about ganja possession, constables S. Elumalai, 25, and K. Santhosh Kumar, 25, went to the house of W. Rias Ahmed, of Thirumalai Achari Street, around 11.30 a.m.

They found a bag that contained a thread bundle. When they checked it and threw it on the floor, it exploded. Both of them sustained minor injuries.

On hearing the explosion, the residents in the neighbourhood rushed to the spot and shifted the injured policemen to the Government Taluk Hospital in Arakkonam. “They were shifted to the Government Stanley Hospital for further treatment. Further investigation is on,” said Deepa Satyan, Ranipet SP. Z. Annie Vijaya, DIG (Vellore), visited the spot along with Ms. Satyan. They also met the injured policemen at the hospital later in the day. The police said initial inquiries revealed that Rias Ahmed, along with M. Jayasurya, 24, who resides in Ambedkar Nagar in the town, was involved in the smuggling and sale of ganja for the past few years.

Rias Ahmed had also been arrested earlier by Arakkonam police for ganja possession. This was why the police searched his house on Sunday. However, they could not find any ganja this time. They are also investigating where the accused got the crude bomb.