Explosive material found in India's provincial assembly

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) - A suspicious package containing white powder, later identified as explosive material, was found on Friday inside the provincial assembly of northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The 150 gram package filled with Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), a highly explosive organic compound, was kept under the chair of the opposition leader, the provincial chief minister said.

“Half a kilogram of this substance can blow up the entire assembly building,” Yogi Adityanath added, saying that everyone present inside the assembly should be investigated.

He urged the National Investigation Agency, the country’s central agency which combats terrorism, to look into the matter. "This could be a terror plot," he said.

Uttar Pradesh is India’s most populous state with 403 legislative members. Hindu hardliner Adityanath became the chief minister of the state after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the elections with a thumping majority in March this year.