Large quantity of explosives unearthed in Rameswaram

Police on Monday unearthed ammunition and explosives in large quantity at the coastal hamlet of Anthoniyarpuram near Thangachimadam in Rameswaram district. Police also recovered trinitrotoluene detonators and detonator launchers as they dug out over 20 boxes containing ammunition and explosives for different types of weapons.

According to reports, a fisherman, who was digging a pit to construct a septic tank at the back of his house, found an iron box with the explosives and immediately alerted police. A team, led by Superintendent of Police Omprakash Meena, dug out the place.

Ammunition including cartridges for light machine guns, medium machine guns and self-loading rifles was recovered, the SP reportedly said. Further, 22 boxes, each with 250 rounds of bullets, were recovered till 9 pm, the top cop reportedly added.

Locals reportedly said that Srilankan Tamil militant organisations such as Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front used to visit the village in the late 1980s. They could’ve buried the ammunition and explosives for smuggling, the locals added.