8 arrested with firearms, fake currency notes worth Rs 60,000
The STF officials said the arrests were made following a tip-off while the dealers were trading FICN & improvised firearms among themselves
Kolkata: The Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata Police has nabbed eight persons with Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) and firearms from Narkeldanga area on Saturday night. Several arms and FICN worth Rs 60,000 were seized from the accused persons.
On Saturday night, the anti-FICN team of STF raided the Narkeldanga area and arrested eight persons who were dealing with firearms and FICN. Recently, police got a tip-off about a big consignment of FICN that would be handed over to some carriers. Working on the sources, the sleuths came to know that a few persons from Malda had arrived in Kolkata to complete the deal.
Based on the information, the sleuths raided a place and identified three suspicious persons waiting for someone. Immediately, they chalked out a plan and STF personnel started monitoring the trio from different places. Soon five persons came and met the trio. When they were exchanging bags, the sleuths surrounded them. They were detained and taken to the STF police station at Lalbazar.
During a search operation police seized 20 pieces of Rs 2,000 denomination and 40 pieces of Rs 500 denomination from one bag. From inside another bag, 14 numbers of '7mm semi-automatic pistols' with dual magazines and 21 rounds of bullet were found. On the wee hours of Sunday, the eight persons detained were arrested. A case on charges of possessing and using counterfeit currency notes under Sections 489B and 489C of the IPC and possessing and selling of illegal firearms under Section 25 [1B] of the Arms Act has been initiated. They were produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (CMM) Court, Kolkata, on Sunday.
It is suspected that criminals from Malda and Birbhum were purchasing the pistols. According to sources, there were three persons from Munger in Bihar who had come to Kolkata to sell the pistols. Among 17 pistols three were finished and the rest were unfinished.
On seeing the unfinished pistols, the sleuths suspect that they might have completed the work after taking them to Malda. The alleged arms dealers are identified as Md Nizam, alias Tetar, Md Nausad and Rohit Sahil, alias Vijay Kumar from Munger in Bihar. The rest five are identified as Rafikul Shaikh, alias Munna, Rahul Shaikh, alias Mussalim Shaikh, Md Zeaul Shaikh, Tahir Shaik from Kaliachak in Malda and Jiyauddin Mallik from Suri in Birbhum.
In a separate incident, a person has been arrested by Suti police station with 10 numbers '7 mm pistols' and 50 rounds of bullet. The accused Chhabi Singh was given the pistols to deliver them. The sleuths have managed to figure a name that has been involved in arms racket. The name has not been disclosed for the sake of investigation.
