CBI officers have claimed that most of the arms found during a raid in Sandeshkhali on Friday were meant for use by uniformed forces and said they will probe how Shahjahan Sheikh’s close aide procured them.
At least one police revolver was among the seized arms, a CBI officer said.
The investigators said some purchase bills bearing the name of Shahjahan and from a licenced arms and ammunition dealer had been found.
It is not clear, they said, if the ammunition that is beyond the access of civilians was purchased from that dealer or sourced illegally.
The CBI officers said some ammunition that could be procured for personal use was also part of the haul.
“We will verify the bills with the dealer,” said an officer.
The central agency on Friday recovered a cache of arms and ammunition allegedly hidden under the floor of the house of Abu Taleb Sheikh, said to be an aide to suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan.
CBI officers clarified that there was no criminality in possession of licenced arms or ammunition. “But possession of unauthorised cartridges and even misuse of authorised arms and cartridges is illegal,” an officer said.
The seized arms included 9mm calibre cartridges and 9mm bullets. According to arms experts, the use of 9mm bullets and cartridges is restricted to uniformed forces and they are not commercially available.
The seizure also included 50 pieces of 0.45 caliber cartridges which are also not commercially available, CBI sources said.
Sources in Sandeshkhali said Shahjahan had a “fascination” for collecting arms and would spend “lakhs” even on a second-hand gun if it caught his fancy. CBI teams revisited Sandeshkhali on Saturday and spoke to people around Abu Taleb’s house. His wife Marjina Bibi was also questioned.
Hasnabad blast
A woman was injured in a blast at the house of the brother of BJP leader Nemai Das at Shimulia-Kalibari in Hasnabad, North 24-Parganas, on Saturday morning.
Police are yet to find explosives at the blast site or ascertain the exact reason behind the explosion.
Speaking at a rally in West Burdwan’s Kulti, chief minister Mamata Banerjee referred to the Hasnabad blast. She said: “Today, I heard about the stockpiling of bombs in the house of a BJP leader. They (BJP) are trying to win polls by stocking bombs and snatching jobs.”
Nemai rejected Trinamool’s allegations of stockpiling explosives while accusing his rival of being behind the blast. Nemai, who is known to be a close associate of BJP leader B.L. Santosh, unsuccessfully fought the 2021 Assembly poll from Hingalganj.
