Pakistan sounds alarm over ‘theft and sale’ of radioactive material in India 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Monday it was concerned over reports of the ‘theft and illicit sale’ of radioactive material in India, demanding an investigation into the matter. 
Last week, the Crime Investigation Department in India’s West Bengal state arrested two people from an area near the Kolkata airport over the illegal possession of radioactive substances, India’s NDTV news channel reported. One of the four pieces of radioactive materials seized was suspected to be californium, a radioactive chemical element. 
This is the third such incident in India in the last four months, according to media reports. In May and June, authorities seized over 13kg of uranium from unauthorized persons in two separate incidents in India. 
“It is a matter of grave concern for the international community that an extremely rare Sealed Radioactive Source (SRS) material like Californium could be stolen,” a spokesperson for the Pakistani Foreign Office said in a statement. “As in the previous cases, the arrested individuals apparently got hold of the radioactive material by purchasing it from inside India.” 
These repeated incidents, the statement said, raised serious concerns about the safety and security of nuclear and other radioactive materials in India and the possible existence of a “black market” for such materials inside the country.
“It also indicates the lax arrangements inside India to secure imported SRS material,” the FO said, calling for a thorough investigation and adequate measures to prevent their recurrence. 
India has not been the only country where theft of radioactive materials has been reported. 
Pakistan is itself accused of trafficking these materials, equipment and the information to enrich radioactive materials to Iran, Libya and North Korea. 
The country placed Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the so-called father of its nuclear program, under house arrest in 2004 after he confessed to selling nuclear secrets to foreign countries. Several of his collaborators in Europe have been arrested in Germany, Switzerland and South Africa. Khan was released in 2009.