Kolkata, April 5: In an early morning operation on Sunday, the sleuths of Cooch Behar District Police in poll-bound West Bengal have successfully seized a consignment of arms and ammunition at Changrabandha Bypass under Mekliganj Police Station in that district.
The arms and ammunition had taken place just 10 hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address a mega campaign rally in Cooch Behar town in the same district at around 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Sources from the Cooch Behar District Police said that amid the crucial two-phase assembly elections in the state later this month, the district police authorities have intensified the Naka-checking activities in the district, which has international borders with Bangladesh.
“The precautions on this count were more since Saturday evening because of the Prime Minister’s scheduled programme in the district. On Sunday at around 4 a.m., our men deployed at such a Naka-checking point at the Changrabandha Bypass area stopped a four-wheeler as part of routine checking. From that vehicle, four counter-made pistols and two rounds of ammunition were recovered,” the district police officer said.
Two persons have been arrested in this connection. They have been identified as Manirul Islam and Shamim Rahman. Both have been handed over to the Crime Branch of the district police.
“Interrogation is on to know what their motive was for carrying those arms and ammunition illegally. Both will be presented at a district court on Sunday, and the public prosecutor will seek their police custody,” said the district police official.
From preliminary interrogation, the investigating officials have come to know that both were coming from Siliguri in Darjeeling district, and their destination was Dinhata in Cooch Behar district.
The police suspect that the weapons were being taken to create panic during the forthcoming elections. Police have launched an investigation into the matter.
Following the instructions from the Election Commission of India (ECI), the state police are carrying out special operations throughout the state, focusing on the recovery of illegal firearms, explosive items, liquor, and cash.
The two-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled on April 23 and April 29. In the first phase, polling will be held for 152 Assembly constituencies, and in the second phase, for the remaining 142 seats.
The results will be declared on May 4.
–IANS
