KOLKATA/HOWRAH: The Special Task Force of Kolkata Police, with help from Howrah City police, busted a sophisticated arms manufacturing unit located at Howrah’s Pilkhana and seized 46 semi-finished pistols and arrested three persons. Later in the day, 20 more semi-finished pistols were recovered from a locked room in Shibpur.
The .9mm and .7mm pistols were manufactured by craftsmen from Bihar’s Munger. The gang also dealt in fake currency, said police sources.
The property from where the unit operaetd, is owned by a north Howrah BJP leader, while the person who sub-let the property to the gang is a close relative of a former Trinamool Congress councillor.
“A few weeks ago, we had busted a manufacturing unit near the airport. Now, we have one more unit located close to the railway station. It seems the Munger-based gangs have gained a strong foothold in Kolkata and are selling pistols for as low as Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000, to both local gangs and the ones operating in Bangladesh,” said a police source.
“ The anti-FICN team of STF, Kolkata, intercepted the three accused from Strand Road near Customs House. Counterfeit Indian currency notes with face value of Rs 1,00,000 were also recovered from them,” said joint CP (STF) Subhankar Sinha Sarkar.
A case under IPC sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy, counterfeiting and Arms Act has been lodged. The accused, all residents of Munger Kashembazar, were identified as Md Chand (30), Md Sultan (24) and Md Shiltu (20). Twenty semi-finished weapons were recovered from Md Chand’s house.
Police sources said further questioning led them to the Arms factory at Pilkhana Bazar.
The owner of the property, Tarak Nath Sahu, claimed he was merely the owner and had no idea what was going on there. Sahu said he had rented it out to Sahanaz Rehmatullah, nephew of a former TMC councillor. Both Sahuand Rehmatullah claimed they were being made “political scapegoats”. In the evening, raids in a house in Shibpur led to recovery of more semi-finished pistols.
The .9mm and .7mm pistols were manufactured by craftsmen from Bihar’s Munger. The gang also dealt in fake currency, said police sources.
The property from where the unit operaetd, is owned by a north Howrah BJP leader, while the person who sub-let the property to the gang is a close relative of a former Trinamool Congress councillor.
“A few weeks ago, we had busted a manufacturing unit near the airport. Now, we have one more unit located close to the railway station. It seems the Munger-based gangs have gained a strong foothold in Kolkata and are selling pistols for as low as Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000, to both local gangs and the ones operating in Bangladesh,” said a police source.
“ The anti-FICN team of STF, Kolkata, intercepted the three accused from Strand Road near Customs House. Counterfeit Indian currency notes with face value of Rs 1,00,000 were also recovered from them,” said joint CP (STF) Subhankar Sinha Sarkar.
A case under IPC sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy, counterfeiting and Arms Act has been lodged. The accused, all residents of Munger Kashembazar, were identified as Md Chand (30), Md Sultan (24) and Md Shiltu (20). Twenty semi-finished weapons were recovered from Md Chand’s house.
Police sources said further questioning led them to the Arms factory at Pilkhana Bazar.
The owner of the property, Tarak Nath Sahu, claimed he was merely the owner and had no idea what was going on there. Sahu said he had rented it out to Sahanaz Rehmatullah, nephew of a former TMC councillor. Both Sahuand Rehmatullah claimed they were being made “political scapegoats”. In the evening, raids in a house in Shibpur led to recovery of more semi-finished pistols.
Elections 2019
Trending Topics
LATEST VIDEOS
More from TOI
Navbharat Times
Featured Today in Travel
Quick Links
Lok Sabha Election Schedule 2019Lok Sabha Election NewsDelhi Capitals teamMI team 2019Rajasthan Royals 2019RCB team 2019Maharashtra Lok Sabha ConstituenciesBJP Candidate ListBJP List 2019 TamilnaduShiv Sena List 2019AP BJP List 2019Mamata BanerjeeBJP List 2019 MaharashtraPriyanka GandhiBJP List 2019 KarnatakaAMMK Candidate List 2019BJP List 2019 WBLok Sabha Elections in Tamil NaduBSP List 2019 UPNews in TamilLok Sabha Poll 2019Satta Matka 2018PM ModiMahagathbandhanNagpur BJP Candidate ListChandrababu NaiduTamil Nadu ElectionsUrmila MatondkarNews in TeluguMadras High CourtTejashwi YadavArvind KejriwalTejasvi SuryaPawan KalyanArvind KejriwalYogi AdityanathJaya PradaSatta King 2019Srinagar encounter
Get the app