Patna: A three-member team of scientists from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, visited Gopalganj on Saturday following the recent seizure of 50 grams of a “radioactive substance” from three people. The team, however, did not detect any radioactivity in the samples during their preliminary investigation.
“During the preliminary investigation, no radioactivity was detected in the sample.However, the team, sent by the department of atomic energy, has returned to Mumbai with the sample for further investigation,” Gopalganj SP Swarn Prabhat said.
The 50-gram sample was confiscated at Balthar check post by Kuchaikote police station incharge Sunil Kumar on August 9. Three smugglers were arrested in connection with the seizure. The market price of californium, the substance in question, is around Rs 17 crore per gram.
The arrested suspects claimed the material was genuine and that they were transporting it from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh to Siwan in Bihar, where it was intended to be sold through a jail inmate.
SHO of Kuchaikote police station, Sunil Kumar, said the expert team conducted investigations using room temperature mapping. “The sample was tested through alpha, gamma and mass spectrometry systems. This process was meant to confirm the presence of californium, which is known to exhibit a temperature rise at room temperature,” he added.
“Three persons were detained with the suspected californium. They area Chhotelal Prasad, a resident of Parsauni police station area in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, Chandan Gupta and Chandan Ram, both residents of Gopalganj. The Gopalganj residents were earlier jailed in a fraud case,” the SHO added.

We also published the following articles recently