As many as seven people have been arrested in Jharkhand's Bokaro district and six kg of uranium has allegedly been seized from them, informed the police.
A case has been registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Atomic Energy Act.
"On the basis of their confession, an FIR has been registered against the seven accused for sale and purchase of uranium. They have been sent to jail. Uranium has been seized. The sample will be tested," said Chandan Jha, Superintendent of Police (SP), Bokaro.
According to the SP, on June 2, a specific input was received that some people were smuggling a prohibited element and looking for probable customers. "Subsequently, a team was then formed and seven people were arrested from different locations. From their possession, we have seized 6 kg of suspected uranium," he said.
One of the accused, Bapi Dutta, a resident of Chas, Jharkhand toldthat under the pretext of selling a diamond, the main gangster, who supplied this mineral had asked them to sell it for about Rs 15 - Rs 20 lakh.
"I got in contact with the main supplier through one of the accused. He had taken Rs 30,000 for me saying that it is a diamond and I was supposed to sell it further for Rs 15 - Rs 20 lakh. We did not know what it was. We just got to know it is uranium," Dutta claimed.
The seized uranium has been sent to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the police are trying to find out its source. Further investigations are underway.
( With inputs from ANI )
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