A
GARTALA: Tripura Police have launched a hunt for criminals supplying sophisticated arms to gangsters in the state. This follows after the arrest
of a "courier," who had escaped from prison along with five Bangladeshis, with three US-made pistols and ammunition on Wednesday.
"We were acting on a specific information," said OC of West Agartala police station Subrata Chakrabarty. He added that the arrested, identified as Siva, was roaming at Battala market when police intercepted him.
"We first found two pistols in his possession. When grilled, he led us to an isolated place near a temple where the third weapon was found," he said.
Siva told police that two persons had given him the weapons to deliver them to some persons in Agartala. Police didn't divulge the names of either the smugglers or the recipients.
"There were eight magazines and Siva claimed he had already fired two rounds. We also found bullet marks and spared cases. It is yet to be ascertained whether Siva had fired bullets or it was the members of the gang. Prima facie it is highly unlikely that a courier' would spend two costly bullets," Chakrabarty added.
West Tripura SP K V Sreejesh said, "There is a strong possibility of US- made fire arms being smuggled into Tripura from Bangladesh. We are not ruling out anything and search operations are being conducted across the district. We are hopeful of rounding up all the smugglers as well as the recipients soon. We have already got some lead."
Though police did not elaborate further, sources said the firearms were brought to Tripura for a criminal gang that may have been planning crimes like dacoity or bank heist in the city. It could very well also be linked with the Durga Puja festival.
A senior police officer said said a greenhorn in such rackets is usually given one firearm to deliver at a time for safety and secrecy. But this time, a young "courier" was given three pistols to deliver which means he had already gained confidence and trust from the smugglers, he added. This is possible only if the person has perfomed similar acts before, he said.
Last year, just before Durga Puja, ATTF militants had triggered blasts in Agartala.
GARTALA: Tripura Police have launched a hunt for criminals supplying sophisticated arms to gangsters in the state. This follows after the arrest
of a "courier," who had escaped from prison along with five Bangladeshis, with three US-made pistols and ammunition on Wednesday.
"We were acting on a specific information," said OC of West Agartala police station Subrata Chakrabarty. He added that the arrested, identified as Siva, was roaming at Battala market when police intercepted him.
"We first found two pistols in his possession. When grilled, he led us to an isolated place near a temple where the third weapon was found," he said.
Siva told police that two persons had given him the weapons to deliver them to some persons in Agartala. Police didn't divulge the names of either the smugglers or the recipients.
"There were eight magazines and Siva claimed he had already fired two rounds. We also found bullet marks and spared cases. It is yet to be ascertained whether Siva had fired bullets or it was the members of the gang. Prima facie it is highly unlikely that a courier' would spend two costly bullets," Chakrabarty added.
West Tripura SP K V Sreejesh said, "There is a strong possibility of US- made fire arms being smuggled into Tripura from Bangladesh. We are not ruling out anything and search operations are being conducted across the district. We are hopeful of rounding up all the smugglers as well as the recipients soon. We have already got some lead."
Though police did not elaborate further, sources said the firearms were brought to Tripura for a criminal gang that may have been planning crimes like dacoity or bank heist in the city. It could very well also be linked with the Durga Puja festival.
A senior police officer said said a greenhorn in such rackets is usually given one firearm to deliver at a time for safety and secrecy. But this time, a young "courier" was given three pistols to deliver which means he had already gained confidence and trust from the smugglers, he added. This is possible only if the person has perfomed similar acts before, he said.
Last year, just before Durga Puja, ATTF militants had triggered blasts in Agartala.
0 comments:
Post a Comment