2 arrested for trying to sell 7 kg uranium worth Rs 21 Cr in black market

The two men were on Wednesday produced before a local court which remanded them in the custody of the Anti-Terrorism Squad till May 12, an official said.

Mumbai:The Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad seized over 7 kg of natural uranium worth about Rs 21.30 crore and arrested two persons, an official said on Thursday.

The substance is "highly radioactive and dangerous to human life", the ATS official said quoting a report of an analysis conducted by the BARC.

Acting on specific information, the ATS apprehended a 27-year-old Thane resident, Jigar Pandya, with some small pieces of the substance on February 14 this, he said.

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Pandya was allegedly trying to sell it illegally and was in search of a possible customer, he said.

During his interrogation, the ATS team got information that the uranium pieces were given to him by Abu Tahir Afzal Husain Choudhary (31), a resident of Mankhurd in the eastern suburbs here, the official said.

The ATS subsequently nabbed Choudhary from the premises of Kurla Scrap Association in Mankhurd and seized 7.1 kg of natural urnaium from him, he said.

The uranium was sent to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Trombay for analysis, he said.

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The report from the research centre said the substance was natural uranium, which is "highly radioactive and dangerous to human life", he said.

The ATS on Wednesday registered a case under provisions of the Atomic Energy Act-1962, based on a complaint by the regional director, central region, Atomic Minerals Directorate of Exploration of Research in Nagpur, he said.

The two men were on Wednesday produced before a local court which remanded them in the custody of the ATS till May 12, the official said.

With Input from agencies