Kolkata, Feb 10 Police have arrested a Bihar-based arms smuggler from the Kasba area in Kolkata and seized firearms and cartridges from his possession.
The arrested person has been identified as Mohammad Ishtiaq, 38, a resident of Bihar.
The police said that the arrest was made based on inputs that several illegal firearms and ammunition were about to enter the city from the Bihar-Jharkhand region.
"Our source network in Bihar and Kolkata quickly became active. After examining all the information, a resident of Gaya, Bihar, came up on our radar, and we started keeping a special eye on his movements," said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.
It was assumed that this person might enter the city with firearms and ammunition by taking a night bus from Gaya to Kolkata, then try to reach his destination by taking an auto or a yellow taxi.
Based on this, several teams of the anti-rowdy section started surveillance in plain clothes at the Rashbehari Connector in Kasba Police Station area in south Kolkata since Monday morning.
Although the police had advance information about the suspect's movements, they did not know exactly when or in what type of vehicle the suspect would enter the area. For several long hours, the officers continued checking one auto and taxi after another.
"At around 1 p.m. on Monday, officers stopped an auto heading towards the bypass from Gariahat and arrested Mohammad Ishtiaq, 38, a resident of Gaya district. On searching his belongings, we found three single-shot revolvers, two six-chamber revolvers, a 7mm pistol and a total of 11 rounds of cartridges. A detailed investigation into the case is underway," said the senior police officer.
As Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in the next few months, the police have increased surveillance on the movement of arms and launched a crackdown on arms dealers.
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