NEW DELHI: A team of NIA officials and forensic experts on Friday visited the Uttar Pradesh Assembly hall in Lucknow where a packet of PETN, an explosive substance, was found under one of the seats occupied by Leader of the Opposition in UP Assembly Ram Govind Choudhary during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on July 12.
“The NIA team visited the UP Vidhan Sabha hall on Friday and made a thorough assessment of the scene from where the suspected PETN was found. The team was accompanied by the NIA explosive expert and forensic experts from the CFSL, Chandigarh,” a NIA spokesperson said.
The team also held discussions with officials of the Uttar Pradesh home department, Vidhan Sabha, police and the Uttar Pradesh anti-terror squad (ATS) on various aspects of the alleged recovery of PETN, the official said.
The NIA had registered a case on July 26 to probe the recovery of explosives in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly following a directive from the union home ministry. The ministry’s decision came following a reference from the Uttar Pradesh government seeking an NIA probe into the incident.
The PETN found lying under Govind’s seat is one of the most dangerous plastic explosives available in the black market and preferred by militants as the colourless crystals easily surpass security checks.
The150 grams of PETN was found wrapped in a paper under Ram Govind Choudhary’s seat, close to the podium where the speaker sits, creating a major scare and overhaul of the security apparatus of the Assembly.