Four persons were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the trafficking of 5,000 rounds of ammunition through Kolkata. It is suspected that the seized ammunition of .315 bore were meant for the Naxals who also use cartridges of the same make.
“We have arrested four persons for the trafficking of 5,000 rounds of ammunition through the heart of the city,” said special task force (STF) chief Rajiv Kumar. “The car that was intercepted on Monday was coming from Bihar,” Mr Kumar added. However, he refused to divulge the destination of the consignment.
The four have been identified as Mahesh Kumar Singh, Rampravesh Prasad, Rajesh Sharma and Dilip Misra. The first three were in the car when it was intercepted. But they had managed to escape when the traffic sergeant was busy checking the car papers. From the toll receipts recovered from inside the car, it was ascertained that the vehicle had started off from Patna on Monday morning. All four were arrested from a hotel in New Market area, claimed STF officers. Mahesh, the mastermind, is a resident of Patna, while Rampravesh and Rajesh are drivers.
Apart from owing a media house in Patna, Mahesh also runs an arms shop there, revealed sources.