Hyderabad: A contractor from Rajendranagar concealed a huge quantity of explosives in a rented house. Cyberabad police raided the house in Hanumannagar and recovered 30 kg of ammonia, 1,620 detonators and 1,350 gelatine sticks on Wednesday. The owner Yellaiah is absconding, but the police arrested six of his aides after the raid.

The explosives is suspected to have been brought from neighbouring districts illegally. Police officials said it was about to be used for blasting rocks at construction sites in different parts of the city.

Yellaiah, who owns a construction firm and runs a parallel business in explosives illegally, had been bringing substances like gelatine sticks to the city since many weeks. “He brings them to the city secretly and uses them to blast rocks at construction sites. He does not have a valid license to procure or distribute explosives,” said Cyberabad special operation team chief E. Ramachandra Reddy.

Police officials said the explosives were kept in the house without any safety precautions. “The area is thickly populated with many houses and buildings. A spark was enough to blow up the entire area and casualties would have been huge,” said a police officer, who was in the raiding team.

The police is yet to confirm the source of the explosives since the owner is absconding. A police team has launched a search to find him. The cops have booked a case against him and his assistants under the Explosives Act.

The arrested people are Guram Bakkaiah, 41, Varikupalla Anjaiah, 45, Gunja Venkataiah, 45, Shivarathri Narsimha, 45, Yedulla Narsimha Reddy, 40, and Vijay, 37.