3 weeks ago
Bengal STF seizes 15 firearms, 56 cartridges in Andal raid
The police in West Bengal found a hidden stash of guns and bullets.
They found the stash in old, empty houses that belonged to a coal company called Eastern Coalfields Limited.
Two men arrested earlier for stealing coal helped lead the police to the hiding place.
The men are Shamsher Hossain and Khairul Alam Choudhary.
The police found 15 guns and 56 bullets in total.
The guns included pistols, revolvers, and simple homemade pipe guns.
Now the police think the men may also have been selling guns illegally.
Stealing and selling coal is a big problem in this part of India.
Big police agencies are also looking into coal smuggling in West Bengal and Jharkhand.
The two men will be questioned again to learn more about their possible gun business.
West Bengal Police STF seized 15 firearms and 56 live cartridges from abandoned Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) quarters in Andal, West Burdwan district.
The recovered weapons included improvised pipe guns, .38 revolvers, and multiple 9mm and .32-bore pistols.
The raid was based on information from interrogations of arrested coal mafia Shamsher Hossain and Khairul Alam Choudhary, and ran from Saturday night to early Sunday morning.
Shamsher Hossain was arrested last Tuesday from Ranchi in Jharkhand, while Khairul Alam Choudhary was arrested last month from Jamuria.
Officials suspect the duo may be involved in illegal arms trafficking besides coal smuggling, a long-running issue in West Bengal and Jharkhand under CBI and ED scrutiny.
- Who
- Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police, acting on information from arrested coal mafia Shamsher Hossain and Khairul Alam Choudhary
- What
- Recovered a cache of 15 firearms and 56 live cartridges from abandoned ECL quarters
- Where
- Andal, near Durgapur, West Burdwan district, West Bengal
- When
- Saturday night to early Sunday morning, during night-long raids
- Why
- Officials suspect the arrested duo may be involved in illegal arms trafficking alongside coal smuggling; the weapons were allegedly procured to enforce and protect coal mafia operations
Key facts
- Agency
- Special Task Force (STF), West Bengal Police
- Location
- Andal, West Burdwan district, West Bengal
- Recovery site
- Abandoned Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) quarters
- Weapons recovered
- 15 firearms (pipe guns, .38 revolvers, 9mm and .32-bore pistols) and 56 live cartridges
- Suspects
- Shamsher Hossain and Khairul Alam Choudhary
- Shamsher's arrest
- Last Tuesday from Ranchi, Jharkhand
- Khairul's arrest
- Last month from Jamuria
- ECL ownership
- Subsidiary of Coal India Limited
Quotes
State police officer
Official from West Bengal Police Special Task Force
“"Now, the recovery of the arms and ammunition is hinting towards their parallel involvement in arms trafficking. They will be interrogated again to investigate along these lines."”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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