India finds chemical-laced bullets
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An Indian soldier guards a border fence in Kashmir.
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SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) -- Police battling Islamic separatists in disputed Kashmir say they have found bullets coated with lethal chemicals at a rebel hideout.
The seizure comes four months after the Indian army said it had information that Islamic militants in Kashmir knew how to build crude chemical weapons but had no proof.
About a dozen separatist groups operate in Kashmir, which is at the core of decades of animosity between India and Pakistan.
"We recovered a pen-pistol and 25 cartridges. When one of our men tried to remove the cartridge inside, it emitted fumes and he felt dizzy and became unconscious," K. Rajendra, inspector general of police in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, told Reuters Saturday.
"We have sent the pistol and bullets for forensic examination. Initial tests reveal the bullets are laced with a neurotoxic substance," he said, describing the weapon as lethal at short range.
Rajendra said the discovery was made this week in a house in the village of Nagri in the border district of Kupwara, northwest of Srinagar, summer capital of the state.
Police were investigating to determine which rebel group had hidden the arms and the homeowner was being held for questioning, he added.
In the past, guerrillas fighting against New Delhi's rule in the state have been accused of stockpiling sophisticated weapons, including a surface-to-air missile and a warhead that troops recovered last December from a hideout in the same district.
But the seizure was the first time a weapon of this kind has been since the revolt against Indian rule began 14 years ago.
Pakistan denies Indian accusations it sponsors the 14-year-old revolt in the Muslim-majority state, which has claimed at least 40,000 lives so far. Separatists put the toll at more than 80,000.
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
