Several media houses recently reported that Californium, a rare radioactive material, along with sensitive documents related to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), were seized from the residence of Francis Ekka, the husband of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Amrita Ekka, in Naxalbari, Darjeeling.
The seizure, according to reports, followed a coordinated raid on November 26, 2024 by the Central Disaster Response Force (CDRF) and the Panighata police in the Belgachi Tea Garden area of Naxalbari block.
Californium (Cf) is a synthetic radioactive element with the atomic number 98. It was first synthesized in 1950 by a team at the University of California, Berkeley. Californium is not found in nature. It is produced through nuclear reactions, typically by bombarding curium with helium ions. The element is used in nuclear reactors to initiate reactions, optimize performance, and in radiation therapy for treating cancers. It also plays a key role in industrial applications such as neutron radiography, metal detectors for gold prospecting, and neutron activation analysis for trace element identification. Its unique radioactive properties make it valuable in both medical and industrial fields.
Californium is expensive because of its limited availability, high production costs, and the need for specialized shipping containers.
Zee News published a report under the headline “Rare Radioactive ‘Californium’ Seized From Home Of Bengal TMC Leader’s Husband; Its Cost Per Gram Will Shock You”. The report said, “The availability of this highly sensitive substance and confidential documents has raised serious concerns about his links with the underworld network.”
NDTV India (@ndtvindia) tweeted a news bulletin by Siddharth Prakash, which reported that police and NDRF had seized dangerously radioactive Californium, valued at approximately Rs 17 crore per gram, along with sensitive DRDO documents from Francis Ekka, a TMC leader. Siddharth raised concerns whether the incident could be part of a larger conspiracy.
ममता बनर्जी की टीएमसी के नेता के घर क्या कर रहा था 17 करोड़ का कैलिफोर्नियम और ये होता क्या है?#Californium | #TMC pic.twitter.com/3awqMvNTsy
— NDTV India (@ndtvindia) December 1, 2024
Media houses including Times of India, Republic world, The Indian Express, and India TV News have reported the same.
Shehzada Poonawala, the BJP national spokesperson, accused TMC of indulging in activities that threaten national security.
Husband of TMC leader caught with secret DRDO documents and radioactive substance
NUCLEAR MATERIAL FOUND AT TMC NETA’s HOUSE
Dangerous and valuable *nuclear chemical ‘Californium’ has been recovered from the house of TMC leader Francis Ekka*. The price of this chemical in the… pic.twitter.com/PgiJKc5CoD
— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) November 30, 2024
BJP leader Arjun Singh, in a press conference, said “At the direction of Nabanna, a conspiracy is being hatched to murder some BJP leaders.” He added, “This is such a chemical that if someone passes from its side without protection, their body will decay in a month”.
Rishi Bagree tweeted on the incident calling it to be “nothing less than national treason”. (Screenshot below)
Fact Check
During our investigation, we found a video report by ANI on their YouTube channel, where Darjeeling SP Praween Prakash, while addressing the media, refuted the claims of Californium and DRDO papers were found with the accused person.
Prakash said, “A source told us that a person was trying to sell radioactive materials… we initially thought that this kind of things generally kept on happening and people would try to cheat others by doing all these kinds of activities… But because it came to our notice we thought even if it was a cheating gang we had to investigate what was going on behind that. We were told that they were trying to sell some kind of radioactive material that they had in boxes and some DRDO documents… But later on, when we investigated, we had to take the help of the NDRF team… if there was any kind of radiation in the room where the material was kept… Nothing was found. But according to protocol, we had to inform of the department of the atomic energy (DAE).”
The SP further revealed that during the interrogation, the accused, Francis Ekka, confessed to being a part of a larger gang of three/four more individuals. They were scheming to deceive people by falsely claiming that the materials they were selling were radioactive, which, in reality, they were not. The boxes and the forged documents used in the scam were all locally fabricated. The accused was actively seeking potential buyers in order to defraud them.
Prakash also pointed out that Ekka had been accused of involvement in similar fraudulent activities in the past as well. In 2018, a case was registered in Mirik, where he was allegedly involved in some kind of transportation of stolen material like anti-radiation jackets.
While answering the question of a journalist, the Darjeeling SP clarified that there was no “anti-national angle” to the case. He added, “These people hardly have an idea of what they are claiming and what they are doing. This is a simple case of cheating.”
A keyword search led us to a news report by ABP Ananda, the headline, when translated, reads, “Chemical recovered from Trinamool leader’s house is not ‘Californium’, tests reveal”. The report says that according to a report of the department of atomic energy, the chemical recovered from the residence of Francis Ekka was not radioactive.
Several local media outlets reported on the case. Kalimpong News published a report with the headline, “No radioactive material found in arrest of Francis Ekka, police investigate alleged forgery scheme.”
Siliguri Times shared a video report on its Facebook page with a detailed statement from SP Prakash. He mentions that Ekka’s plan was to cheat people. The box that he had assembled mentioned Iridium. The SP says he has no idea where the media found any mention of Californium. He adds that the accused admitted that there was no radioactive material. The whole plan was to dupe/cheat people. The NDRF had confirmed there was no presence of any radioactive material. However, according to protocol, the DAE had been informed.
Californium Rumours in Bihar, UP
We would like our readers to know that in August 2024, a similar incident took place in Bihar. On August 9, Bihar police arrested three members of a smuggling gang and seized 50 grams of ‘Californium’ worth 850 crores. But later, a three-member team of scientists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, visited Gopalganj followed by the seizure of the ‘radioactive substance’ and, “during the preliminary investigation by the team, no radioactivity was detected in the sample”.
Similarly, Lucknow police had arrested eight people and claimed to have recovered 340 grams of material suspected to be Californium from them on May 28, 2021. Later, the DAE found that the material confiscated was not radioactive.
To sum up, the media reports that dangerously radioactive chemical Californium was found in possession of Francis Ekka in Bengal are false.
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