TIRUPATTUR: A country bomb maker along with a huge quantity of raw materials used for explosives was arrested in Tirupattur taluk on Friday evening after an informer directly contacted collector D Baskara Pandian over phone instead of the police. The house in which he was working in a village in the taluk was also sealed following the arrest.

“The informer somehow got my mobile number and informed me in detail about the country bomb manufacturing unit at Vishamangalam village,” Pandian said.

According to the collector, after the call he ordered that action be taken immediately. However, the informer called him again in an hour and said that the culprits were trying to relocate the raw materials following a tip-off.

Following this, the collector himself oversaw the raid following which one person, V Ganesan (55) of Vishamangalam was arrested and sizeable quantities of bomb making material including 6 kg explosive powder, 20 kg salt, 2 long fuse wires, 20 kg Sulphur powder and other related materials were seized and the house with a cement asbestos sheet roof, where the banned items were stored, owned by one G Ramesh was sealed.

According to the details given to the collector by the informant, Ganesan was operating the bomb-making unit in the village for quite some time without any problem due to his ‘clout’ with the police.

“It’s unfortunate that the police did not act against the unit and the bomb maker though there was an open threat to lives of people in the vicinity,” Pandian said. “I have instructed officials to inspect the location on Saturday itself to ensure that all safety measures were initiated in that village,” the Collector added.

Explosives in Tirupattur have always been under official scanner as the district was infested with Naxal activities in 1980s and 90s.