12,000 Gelatin Sticks Seized on Rajkot Highway Ahead of August 15: Crime Branch Busts Massive Explosives Shipment

In a sift security operation ahead of Independence Day celebrations, the Rajkot Crime Branch intercepted a massive haul of illegal commercial explosives on the city's outskirts, seizing 12,000 gelatin sticks alongside thousands of detonators and arresting one driver.

The high-stakes interception on the Rajkot-Gondal Highway triggered an immediate tactical response, with officers calling in the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and scientific experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to secure the hazardous cargo and inspect the scene.

Night Watch on Rajkot-Gondal Highway

Acting on precise intelligence regarding an illegal consignment moving across the Saurashtra region, Crime Branch teams laid a trap along the busy highway near Kothariya Solvent, directly opposite Shiv Hotel.

Officers flagged down a suspect Mahindra Bolero pickup truck bearing registration number GJ-03-BV-1411. A search of the vehicle uncovered a dangerous stockpile of explosive materials hidden underneath ordinary gunny sacks:

• 12,000 Gelatin Sticks (weighing roughly 1,500 kg)

• 4,222 Explosive Detonators

• 30 Bundles of Blasting Wire

Police estimates put the total value of the seized explosive cache, alongside the transport vehicle, at approximately ₹5.95 lakh.

Inter-District Supply Chain Uncovered

Crime Branch officers arrested the pickup driver on the spot, identifying him as Dola Raghu Meer, also known locally as Dolabhai Bharwad.

Subsequent interrogation of the driver revealed a well-established illicit supply chain stretching across multiple districts in Gujarat:

• The Supplier: Identified as Mitul, based in Manavadar, who allegedly packed and loaded the commercial explosives onto the pickup truck.

• The Intended Receiver: Identified as Hira, alias Hiren Viththal Algotar, a resident of Jamwadi in Thangadh, who hired Meer to haul the illegal cargo from Junagadh district.

Both Mitul and Algotar evaded initial capture, prompting multi-district manhunts across Junagadh and Surendranagar as police work to dismantle the broader racket.

Quarrying Angle Under Investigation

Preliminary questioning indicates the commercial-grade explosives were heading for the Surendranagar mining belt, where demand for illicit blasting material remains high for stone quarries and deep agricultural well-digging.

With Gujarat under tight security ahead of 15 August, senior police officials emphasized that investigators are pursuing all possibilities to verify the intended end-use and rule out any potential threat to public safety during the national holiday.