Hasmukh Patel a resident of the village, was arrested under the Explosive Substances Act after the police recovered the explosive from his house. Patel was produced before a Bharuch court on Saturday and has been remanded in police custody, said the ATS.

“Patel is accused of stocking and selling Ammonium Nitrate without a licence and there is all possibility of the explosive having been bought by some anti-social elements,” said ATS chief, Ajay Tomar.

Acting on a tip off, the ATS, in a joint operation with the Bharuch police, raided Patel’s house in Jespur late on Friday. The police found Ammonium Nitrate packed in 36 sacks in the house. Patel, according to the police, was arrested after he reportedly confessed to having procured the prohibited item illegally.

Sources said Patel’s brother has a licence to trade in Ammonium Nitrate and that the former used to procure the chemical through it in his name.

“The problem for us is that Patel has not maintained a record of people to whom he had sold the explosive in the last one year,” Tomar said.

Sources said that the ATS was making a list of people who had bought Ammonium Nitrate from Patel.