explosive manufacturer in Nagpur questioned by police

Nagpur, Aug 26 (UNI) Police today questioned an explosives manufacturer in connection with the twin blasts in Hyderabad.

Sohail Amin (37), proprietor of ''Amin explosives, was only grilled by a crime branch team and not arrested, police said refuting media reports about his arrest.

Later, speaking to reporters, Commissioner of Police (CP) S P Singh said senior police officials in Hyderabad, with whom he spoke twice today, had neither mentioned that the explosives came from Nagpur nor gave names of manufacturers. It was not yet clear what kind of explosives had been used in the blasts, that occurred last evening, he said.

''In any case, media reports that the explosives were produced by the city-based Amin Explosives are 'totally irrelevant,' because the manufacturer has no control over who the end buyer of the product is,'' Mr Singh said.

Amin manufactures an explosive under the brand name 'Neogel-90', he said. Available in gel form, it is a mixture of Sodium Nitrate, Potassium Nitrate and an emulsifier, he said. Out of the 12 explosives manufacturers in Nagpur district, five make this kind of material, he said adding the police had questioned only Amin and not the four other manufactuerers.

Mr Singh described reports of a suspect, having been arrested in the city as 'totally incorrect.' Amin Explosives had three dealers in Hyderabad, Rajashree Explosives, Balaji Enterprises and Chirag Explosives, and the last consignment of nine tonnes was sent there in July, he said.

He said they had not yet received any request from Hyderabad police for assistance in the investigation into the blasts.

UNI