The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court has framed charges against two men for trying to sell a uranium piece without a valid license in 2020.
While framing charges, the special court observed that the two men – Abu Tahir, 34, a scrap dealer and Jigar Pandya, 31, a freelance event manager – hatched a conspiracy in contravention of the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act. As per the court, neither had any license from the Department of Atomic Energy under the Government of India for acquiring or possessing or disposing of the metal.
The court observed that a businessman had sold an article made out of uranium to Tahir’s father Mohammad Afzal in 2009. Tahir discovered the metal’s identity in 2020 through the internet and found out that its value then was Rs1 crore per kilo. They decided to sell it with the help of Pandya.
When Pandya approached a businessman, he was warned to not get involved but they persisted. Tahir and Pandya were trapped in February 2021, by the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) when they were looking out for customers. A decoy customer was sent by the ATS and a sample was sent for testing.
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) confirmed the material to be natural uranium, following which an FIR was filed against the two men by the ATS. The agency first arrested Pandya and later Tahir. As per the agency, Afzal said he had landed up with the metal by default as he is a scrap dealer and thought he could make a hammer head due to its weight. He said they decided to sell it after identifying it and knowing its value.
