Delhi cops uncertain of Cobalt-60 origins

The police is yet to trace the origin of Cobalt-60, the radioactive material that caused serious injuries to six persons and are awaiting the recovery of the owner of the scrap shop from where it was found three days ago to get more clarity.

"There is nothing concrete. We are waiting for Deepak Jain to regain his health. We are also waiting for reports from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and other agencies," Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Sharad Aggarwal told PTI.

The official said nobody knew from where Jain had bought the scrap. "Normally, scrap dealers never makes public their source of scrap as it will affect their business. So, nobody knows from where he bought it," he said. The police had spoken to scrap dealers in the industrial area to ascertain the source of the material. AERB experts, along with Department of Atomic Energy scientists, had safely removed eight bunches of metal scraps containing sources of Cobalt-60

radioactive isotope from the West Delhi shop and transported the material to the Narora Atomic Power Station in Uttar Pradesh.

The AERB has said its probe into the source of Cobalt-60 pieces may help the Delhi Police trace the route through which it landed in the shop. "Investigations are now in progress to ascertain the source of the radioactive cobalt-60, which was recovered from the scrap in a shop in Mayapuri," S A Hussain, Head of Radiological Safety division of AERB, said.

Jain suffered severe burns and is battling for life at the Apollo Hospital while five others -- Gaurav, Rajendra Prasad, Ramjee Yadav, Ram Kalap and Himanshu Jain -- have been admitted to AIIMS. All of them have been kept in an isolation ward.