Bengal: Two cross-border arms dealers arrested in Bangaon
Kolkata, Aug 13 (IANS) Two cross‑border arms dealers have been arrested from Indo‑Bangladesh border‑adjacent Bangaon in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
The arrested dealers have been identified as Shahidul Mondal and Anu Khan. Huge consignments of arms and ammunition were recovered from their possession.
It is learnt that although both were arrested after simultaneous raid and search operations at their residences late Wednesday night, the information surfaced after they were produced at the Bongaon sub‑divisional court on Thursday afternoon, when the public prosecutor sought police custody for the duo.
Shahidul’s residence is at Bajitala under Bongaon police station, while Anup’s is at Fultala Kalam under the same police station.
Incidentally, both places are close to Habra in North 24 Parganas district, where the Special Task Force (STF) of the state police recently arrested Wahab Mondal, a Pakistani national linked to the Inter‑Services Intelligence (ISI).
However, police have not confirmed any links between the Pakistani national and the two arrested arms dealers. During the raid and search operations, incriminating documents were recovered showing that both were responsible for trafficking arms to neighbouring Bangladesh.
It is learnt that Shahidul mainly procured arms from local sources in West Bengal as well as from Munger in Bihar and stocked them at his residence, while Anup was responsible for marketing them in Bangladesh.
Investigating officers are probing whether they had links with underground fundamentalist groups in Bengal. They are also trying to gather information about other associates in the cross‑border arms smuggling racket.
In interrogation, a state police official said Anup confessed that he recently went to Bangladesh to strike a new deal for supplying arms.
It is learnt that previous complaints were registered against Shahidul and Anup, which were ignored during the earlier Trinamool Congress regime. Police have now started probing those complaints as well.
–IANS
src/dan