Illegal pistols, rifles seized in Kolkata and Malda in poll-bound Bengal – Hindustan Times

A dozen illegal firearms were seized since Friday by the police in Kolkata and Malda district of West Bengal where politics has been marked by violence in the run-up to the assembly polls due in April-May

The detective department of the Kolkata Police on Saturday morning conducted a raid at the inter-state bus terminus on the banks of the Hooghly river and arrested Shah Rukh Mistry, 23, a resident of Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district. A married woman identified as Yasmeen Begum, 37, who is a resident of Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district was also arrested.

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“Six improvised 9 mm pistols, 12 magazines and some ammunition were seized from the duo. The interrogation revealed that they had returned from Bhagalpur in Bihar where they procured the weapons. They were carrying the consignment to a man named Abdul Salim Gazi in Baruipur. Gazi was subsequently arrested. More raids are being conducted to recover arms and nab the associates of the arrested persons,” said Murli Dhar Sharma, joint commissioner of police (crime).

In Malda district, where a firearms manufacturing unit was busted a few days ago, officers from the Harishchandrapur police station seized two improvised rifles, two pistols and some ammunition from the Gobrahat area on Friday night. District police officers said they arrested two men, identified as Saddam Hossain and Majirul Haque. Both are residents of the Dharampur area in the Manikchak community block of Malda.

A few days ago, the Malda police unearthed a firearms factory at Kaliachak and arrested two residents of Bihar’s Munger district. They were allegedly making firearms.