Hundreds of policemen and Atomic Energy Commission squads have fanned out in the northeast Indian state of Assam to find a missing radioactive gamma-ray camera.
A red alert was declared after the iridium camera - with a radioactive pellet used for examining oil pipeline weldings - was stolen while being transported from Lakhimpur to Digboi by bus last week.
P. C. Saloi, the regional police chief supervising the massive search operation, suspects the involvement of several criminals.
Assam government and Atomic Energy Commission officials said that the theft was reported to the police by the Calcutta-based firm that owns the camera, Radiography Inspection Services. The company had been transporting it to the state-owned Indian Oil Refinery at Digboi but on reaching its destination, the firm discovered the camera was missing from the baggage compartment of the public bus.
Commission secretary K. S. Parthasarathy said transporting sensitive equipment by bus was against safety norms and strictly prohibited.
He said radioactive equipment is usually carried in specially designated vehicles.