1,000 cannon balls in Tiruvallur scrap heap

CHENNAI: The police on Tuesday unearthed 1,000 cannon balls, each the size of a shot put, and more than 50 shells from the premises of a metal parts manufacturing company in the Small Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) estate in Gummidipoondi in Tiruvallur district, some 40 km from Chennai. Following the seizure, the police arrested Manoj Kumar, general manager of Vinayaka Metals.
The police had earlier recovered 25 kg of discarded bullets and shells on Sunday and another 125 kg of shells and a grenade on Monday after two teenagers were injured in a blast in the 12-acre industrial estate on Saturday.Police sources said most metal companies in the estate import raw scrap from European countries and the United States.
A special team, searching for more ammunition after the finds on Sunday and Monday, found the cannon balls at Vinayaka Metals, which has remained closed for a while. The company is said to have procured large quantities of scrap. Kumar, the company���s general manager, is being interrogated.
Police said the team barged into the premises and unearthed the ammunition. Tiruvallur Superintendent of Police N K Senthamaraikannan told The Times Of India that all metal companies located in SIPCOT had been asked to disclose details of their procurements and specify if they had come across ammunition in their consignments.
"We have promised them that no action would be taken against them if they come out with the details and hand over the ammunition, which may come under the guise of metal scrap to them. If they do not make the disclosure, they will be prosecuted," Senthamaraikannan said.
"Going by the seizures in the last three days, we expect to unearth more ammunition. Special teams are combing the estate. They are also digging in some places to find out if any ammunition has been buried," he added.
"The ammunition could have come in one consignment and the company might have dumped it inside the well or buried it. The ammunition may date to the pre-World War II years," a senior police officer said.
On Monday, the police seized nearly 125 kg of ammunition; include nine four-inch shells and a grenade besides various types of bullets and metal balls, in a well on the SIPCOT campus. The water in the well was pumped out to get the ammunition, covered by a plastic gunny bag. On Sunday, police found 25 kg of ammunition scattered near the well.