The Dehradun Police made a sixth arrest on Sunday in connection with a suspected radioactive device discovered in a city flat earlier this week. The latest suspect, Rashid Hasan, a resident of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, allegedly supplied the device to five others who were arrested on Friday.
Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajai Singh stated, “During the interrogation of the five suspects arrested on July 12, we learned that they procured the device from this Saharanpur resident. Following this information, we took him into custody for questioning, and after gathering sufficient evidence, he was arrested.”
Police officials involved in the investigation suspect a fraud scheme, where the accused attempted to sell the device—potentially fake—for around Rs10-15 crore. An unnamed police source noted, “Based on the evidence and the interrogation of the suspects, it seems to be a fraud case. One accused, Tabrez Alam, claimed he purchased the device from the Saharanpur resident for Rs5 lakh, intending to deceive others by marketing it as essential for heavy industry and nuclear medicine.”
In addition to the initial five arrests, two more individuals have also been detained as part of the ongoing investigation. Authorities believe the suspects may have constructed the device at home.
Police are also scrutinizing the involvement of Shwetabh Suman, an IT official who rented the flat to the accused. “He was aware of the device and indicated that he could assist them,” an official stated.
On Friday, the presence of the suspected radioactive device triggered panic in Dehradun. Police revealed that initial assessments suggest the device might be fake, pending a definitive report from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
“Although it’s premature to draw conclusions before the BARC report, we can confirm that the device did not contain any radioactive elements. It may have been an attempt to incite panic. The device bore a label indicating it was manufactured by the Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology (BRIT), but this label could also be counterfeit. The accused stated he purchased the device in Saharanpur and aimed to sell it for a profit, claiming he was in discussions with Sumit Pathak, an Agra resident, for the sale,” said Pramod Kumar, Superintendent of Police (City).