Police, CID yet to make headway in Siliguri arms cache case

The Siliguri Police are yet to make headway in explosives recovery case and have so far not traced the destination of the large cache that was seized on Sunday.

Numerous gelatin sticks, detonators and several metres of codex wires were seized from three people.

Investigators, meanwhile, assured of finding out the destination soon, as the investigation of counter-insurgency is going on.

Different angles are being looked into to find the destination; so far, investigators suspect that the consignment was supposed to reach North-East India.

Talking to Millennium Post, Commissioner of Siliguri Police CS Lepcha said: “It is too early to make any comment on this case. 

We cannot say that we have a specific lead. We can’t divulge information on the basis of which we are conducting the probe.”

Lepcha said the Siliguri police are leading the investigation for now.

The state Crime Investigation Department (CID) also reached Siliguri to learn about the case. Bomb disposal squad of the CID will deactivate and examine the explosives.

The huge cache of explosives containing 609 gelatin sticks, 200 detonators of RDX and 630m of codex wires were seized, along with the arrest of three people – including a woman – in Siliguri’s Dagapur Savin Kingdom.

It may be recalled that investigators arrested a Nepali couple, 50-year-old Daoya Tshering Bhutia, alias Daoya Bhutia, and his wife 35-year-old Puja Limbu. Another Nepali national Krishna Prasad Adhikari was also held. The three were daily wagers working in a coal mine in Shillong and had been staying in a rented accommodation in Siliguri.

Meanwhile, investigators suspect that the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) could possibly be connected with the case. A GJM member, Bijoy Thurung, was arrested by the police recently, on suspicion of anti-national activities. Sources claimed that the three Nepali nationals were arrested after getting information from Bijoy and the explosives were likely to be sent to some states in North-East India.

While asking about the involvement of GJM members in this case, Lepcha refused to comment. “The investigation is in a premature stage. It is too early to comment on that,” the Commissioner said.

Moreover, the explosion that took place in a local club at Burdwan’s Sribati village on Monday has made the Siliguri Police more concerned.

The incident is a grim reminder of the Khagragarh blast in October 2014, where explosives were seized from a rented house where a couple lived.

Investigators have not ruled out connections with terrorist organisations and an investigation led by the National Investigation Agency is ongoing.