Bengal: Man in possession of firearm held near Sealdah railway station

Kolkata, Aug 13 A 30-year-old man possessing a firearm was apprehended near the Sealdah railway station on Wednesday, an official said. A home guard and a traffic sergeant saw the man moving around suspiciously and caught him.

However, they had to chase the man -- identified as Pankaj Biswas -- a long way to catch him. Upon searching, a firearm was recovered which was kept inside his shirt.

Later, officers from Entally Police Station reached the spot and arrested the young man. However, questions on safety in and around Sealdah station have been raised following the arrest of the person in possession of a firearm.

Thousands of people commute daily through Sealdah Station which is one of the busiest railway stations in West Bengal after Howrah station.

According to police sources, Pankaj Biswas is a resident of Pottery Road area in north Kolkata.

He was roaming suspiciously near Beliaghata Road, near Sealdah station in the morning. Home Guard Sujit Khanra and sergeant Hiranmoy Sarkar of Sealdah Traffic Guard were on duty at that time.

They got suspicious of the youth and approached him for questioning. After being held by the home guard and traffic sergeant, the youth tried to escape.

They chased him a long way and apprehended him.

During the search, a country-made firearm was found hidden inside his shirt. After this, he was handed over to the Entally police station.

After questioning, the man was arrested. According to police sources, the firearm recovered from the arrested person was found in a non-operational state.

"It has been confiscated. We are investigating where the weapon came from. A case has also been filed against the arrested person under the relevant sections of the Arms Act," said a police officer.

The police are also investigating why was the youth roaming with a firearm near Sealdah station and whether he had any plan to use the firearm.

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