Kolkata, April 5 – In an early morning operation on Sunday, police officers from the Cooch Behar District Police in West Bengal successfully seized a consignment of arms and ammunition at Changrabandha Bypass under the Mekliganj Police Station in that district.
The arms and ammunition were discovered just 10 hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to address a large rally in Cooch Behar town, also 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 state assembly elections later this month, the district police have intensified their checking activities in the district, which shares a border with Bangladesh.
"We took extra precautions since Saturday evening due to the Prime Minister's scheduled event in the district. On Sunday at around 4 a.m., our officers at a checking point on the Changrabandha Bypass stopped a four-wheeler as part of routine checks. We recovered four homemade pistols and two rounds of ammunition from the vehicle," the district police officer said.
Two individuals, identified as Manirul Islam and Shamim Rahman, have been arrested in connection with the case. They have been handed over to the Crime Branch of the district police.
"We are interrogating them to determine their motive for carrying these weapons illegally. They will be presented before a district court on Sunday, and the public prosecutor will seek their police custody," said the district police official.
Preliminary interrogation has revealed that both were traveling from Siliguri in the Darjeeling district, and their destination was Dinhata in the Cooch Behar district.
The police suspect that the weapons were intended to be used to create panic during the upcoming elections. The police have launched an investigation into the matter.
Following instructions from the Election Commission of India (ECI), the state police are conducting special operations throughout the state, focusing on the recovery of illegal firearms, explosives, liquor, and cash.
The two-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled for 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 announced on May 4.
