AHMEDABAD: A day after the seizure of the containers believed to have radioactive substances at Mundra port, the investigators are yet to verify the contents.
The officials close to development said that experts from different departments have been roped in to ascertain the shipment. Other agencies were also appraised of the find as the origin and the destination of the cargo is under scanner.
“Senior officials from agencies including DRI and customs visited the port on Saturday. The substance is yet to be verified as proper equipment is required for the investigation. Forensic science experts and agencies working with atomic energy have been roped in to assess whether the cargo was within legal limits,” said a senior official. DRI did not issue any official communique on the seizure on Saturday.
Adani Group on Friday had issued a statement outlining the details of the seizure. ‘The seized containers were not destined for Mundra Port as well as any other port in India. These hazardous cargo containers were en route from Karachi in Pakistan to Shanghai in China,’ mentioned a tweet by the group that handles the port. The authorities had them offloaded at Mundra for further inspection.
The authorities had pointed that the cargo was listed as non-hazardous, but the seized containers had Hazard Class 7 markings (which indicate radioactive substances). Due to sensitive nature of the operation, the multi-agency team is likely to be formed to probe any local connections, said sources.
