Chemicals used to make bombs in Pulwama attack sourced through Amazon, says CAIT

Traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) in a statement said that sale of drugs and marijuana on the e-commerce portal, Amazon, is not a new and first offence committed by the retailer, according to several media reports. Earlier in 2019, the chemicals for making the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) which were used in the Pulwama terror attack resulting in the death of 40 CRPF soldiers, were also purchased via the e-commerce portal, it added, as per Deccan Herald. The NIA during the investigation of Pulwama case revealed this fact in its report in March 2020, the news also widely appeared in the media in March 2020. Besides other material, ammonium nitrate, which is a contraband item in India, was also purchased through the portal, as per the report. According to Outlook, CAIT national president BC Bhartia and secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said that as per reports available in the public domain, during initial interrogation by the NIA, the person arrested disclosed that he used his Amazon online shopping account to procure chemicals for making IEDs, batteries and other accessories. The explosives used in the attack were determined through the forensic probe to be ammonium nitrate, nitroglycerin, etc. Since facilitation of the sale of contraband item ammonium nitrate was used against Indian soldiers, a case of treason should be registered against Amazon and its officials, they said. CAIT has been demanding a codified law for e-commerce since 2017. Bhartia and Khandelwal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for their immediate direct intervention in the matter, as per the report. CAIT has also urged Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to immediately release e-commerce rules, e-commerce policy and new press notes replacing Press Note no 2 of the FDI policy. The CAIT has requested the government to conduct a thorough investigation into the business model of the e-commerce players operating in India to ensure that no sale of prohibited items or anti- nation activities are conducted on e-commerce portals. On Saturday, an online marijuana sale racket was busted by Bhind police in Madhya Pradesh, leading to the arrest of two persons and seizure of 20kg of the contraband, according to an official. A case was registered under the NDPS Act at Gohad police station in the district on 13 November after 21.7 kilograms of ganja was seized from Gwalior residents Bijendra Tomar and Suraj alias Kallu Pawaiya, the SP said. The investigation revealed that Pawaiya and Jaiswal had formed a company named ‘Babu Tex’ and got it registered on Amazon as a seller, Singh said. They supplied ganja from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh through the company under the guise of selling stevia, a plant-based sweetener, he said. Madhya Pradesh police of Bhind district on Saturday had registered a case against executive directors of Amazon India after busting a racket which allegedly sold ganja (cannabis) under the guise of selling a sweetener through the platform. When contacted, Amazon India said it is currently investigating the issue. “The issue was notified to us and we are currently investigating it whether there is any non-compliance on part of the seller. We assure full co-operation and support required to Investigating Authorities and Law Enforcement agencies with ongoing investigations and ensure full compliance to applicable laws,” an Amazon India spokesperson said. With inputs from PTI