NIA arrests absconding offender in Chittorgarh explosive substance seizure case

New Delhi, April 25 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested an absconding proclaimed offender in connection with a 2022 case relating to recovery of explosives from Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan.

Firoz Khan, a resident of Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh, is the 11th accused to be arrested in the case. He was taken into custody by NIA after he was produced in NIA Special Court, Jaipur by officials from Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, an official said..

The case relates to the seizure of explosives and components used in fabrication of improvised explosive device (IED) by a 'naka' party in Nimbaheda area of Chittorgarh.

Subsequently, the NIA took over and registered the case RC-18/2022/NIA/DLI in April 2022.

The NIA found during investigations that Firoz Khan had conspired with co-accused in the crime and had attended meetings at the poultry farm of accused Imran Khan to hatch the conspiracy.

On Imran’s directions, he had purchased several chemical substances for fabrication of IED.

He had handed over the stuff to Imran, said officials. Firoz had been evading arrest for the past three years and a standing arrest warrant was also issued against him by NIA Special Court, Jaipur.

Firoz is among the 11 accused persons against whom NIA had filed a chargesheet in the case in September 2022 under sections 4, 5, 6 of Explosive Substances Act 1908, sections 16, 18, 18A, 20 of UA(P)Act 1967, and sections 120B, 121A, 122 of IPC.

NIA is continuing with its investigation in the case, said officials.

Earlier, on April 2, the Madhya Pradesh police have arrested Firoz Khan, the prime accused in the 2022 case relating to the seizure of explosives in Rajasthan as part of an alleged terror conspiracy, an official said on Wednesday.

The NIA had declared Khan as the "most wanted" accused in the case with a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head. On March 28, 2022, the police seized a huge quantity of explosive material from a four-wheeler in Nimbahera.

The recovery of the explosives from Rajasthan in 2022 was part of a plan to carry out a blast in Jaipur, officials said.

--IANS

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