Patna, February 18 – In a joint operation, the Kolkata Police STF, the Bihar STF, and the Madhusudanpur Police Station have uncovered an active, illegal, improvised firearms manufacturing unit in Rahamatbagh village in Bhagalpur district, Bihar.
The raid took place at the residence of Md. Nasir Ansari, son of Md. Gaju Salahuddin Ansari, late Tuesday night.
The accused had been operating the illegal arms unit on the ground floor of his house, disguised as a spinning mill.
During the operation, five individuals, including one co-owner and four skilled arms manufacturers, were arrested.
The joint team recovered 20 semi-finished, country-made 7.65 mm pistols, eight pistol barrels, one lathe machine, two milling machines, one drill machine, one grinding-polishing machine, one hand grinder, along with a large quantity of tools and raw materials used for manufacturing firearms.
The arrested individuals are identified as Md. Monazir (21), son of Md. Anwar and a resident of Nathnagar in Bhagalpur.
The other arrested individuals are Md. Shadab Ali alias Saddam (32), son of Md. Sahabuddin, Md. Aslam alias Tinku (41), son of Md. Nayeem Ansari; Md. Samsher Alam alias Chotu (36), son of Md. Sameer and Md. Shahanawaz (25), son of late Naimuddin, all residents of Munger district and skilled arms makers. Some accused managed to escape before the raid.
The Bhagalpur Police are conducting further raids to apprehend the remaining absconding accused.
Following the arrests, the Bhagalpur Police registered an FIR under the provisions of the Arms Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Madhusudanpur police station.
Sources said the operation was carried out after the West Bengal STF received intelligence inputs about the illegal arms manufacturing unit in Bhagalpur.
The information was subsequently shared with the Bhagalpur Police, leading to the coordinated raid.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the accused were manufacturing country-made firearms to supply them to criminals in West Bengal.
With the West Bengal Assembly elections approaching, security agencies are on high alert to prevent the circulation of illegal weapons.