NIA recovers huge cache of explosives with Bengal tags from poultry farm in Dhanbad

In a major breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) recovered a massive quantity of explosive materials from a closed poultry farm in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district. The NIA Kolkata team conducted a surprise raid on Wednesday morning at Dumarkunda colony under Chirkunda police station area, shocking local residents and raising serious security concerns.

The raid followed the interrogation of local timber and stone businessman Sanjay Rawani, during which officials seized 31 cartons of ammonium nitrate, 10 sacks of sulfur (each weighing 50 kg), and 13 cartons of gelatin sticks from his closed poultry farm located in the forest area near Borio village in Kalubthan. All seized materials reportedly bore Bengal-origin tags.

Although Sanjay Rawani was questioned and later released, his younger brother Amarjeet Rawani, who is also involved in the stone business, went absconding. The agency has not ruled out the possibility that the explosives were intended for unlawful use, possibly for illegal mining or a more sinister plan. The origin and intended use of the explosives are now at the center of an intensive investigation.

Locals expressed shock upon learning about the discovery. They claimed to have had no knowledge of any suspicious activities at the now-defunct poultry farm. The location, nestled in a forested patch, had made the site ideal for concealment.

Sanjay Rawani, the eldest son of the late timber trader Ramprasad Rawani, had earlier been engaged in wood-cutting operations with close ties to the forest department and local police across Jharkhand and West Bengal borders. Recently, he had shifted to the stone-crushing business. Investigators suspect the explosives could have been used in illegal quarrying, but are also probing the possibility of a larger network and criminal intent.

The NIA has sealed the farm and returned to Kolkata with the seized material. The agency remains tight-lipped on specific leads, while intelligence units are now scanning potential links to cross-border smuggling, domestic terror threats, and regional mining mafias.