India imports 3,50,000 tonnes of white crystalline ammonium nitrate (AN), which is considered an extremely popular fertiliser by the Indian farming community. Since it is freely available over the counter, the last decade has seen it gain popularity with militant groups having used it in the Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Varanasi and, most recently, in the Hyderabad blasts.
“All you need to go is mix AN with kerosene, petrol or diesel along with nails and ball bearings and you have created a dirt cheap killer device,” said counter-terrorism expert Ajay Sahni.
RDX, the other popular killer device used by terrorist groups, is being smuggled into the country through India’s porous borders with Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. Large amounts of RDX have been reported to be routed as part of the cement consignments imported from Pakistan.
“Since RDX is manufactured in Pakistan’s ordinance factories and is easy to trace. Unfortunately, a major trust deficit between the Centre and state governments has created a situation where there is little movement on the ground to trace RDX supplies,” said former foreign secretary K.C. Singh.
While the home ministry has been considering a ban on open sale of ammonium nitrate, farmers lobbies are opposed to what they believe will be a “new form of licence raj”.
Dr Sahni is not sure whether putting a ban on AN will help.
“In 2010, 61 trucks carrying explosives disappeared in Rajasthan. Subsequently, 35 trucks containing 150 tonnes of explosives were traced but the rest went underground.”
Security experts believe that not all the AN being bought by terrorists is across the counter. A sizeable fraction of AN is disembarked at ports and is being conduited to terror groups.
Other explosives including gelatin sticks and detonators are also being pilfered in large quantities to be used in stone and coal mining quarries.
“There is a nexus between police and politicians and the setting up of a National Counter Terrorism Centre is no answer to a dysfunctional policing system,” said Dr Sahni.
“NCRB statistics show that state governments spend `1.12 per capita per day on state policing. That is not enough money to buy a cup of tea in today’s prices,” Dr Sahni added.