Arms seized in Bengal prior to Independence-Day, one held

Baharampur, Aug 14 : Amid heightened security arrangements in the region for Independence Day, an arms dealer was arrested in West Bengal's Murshidabad district and a huge cache of arms and ammunition was seized from him, police informed on Monday.

The seizure took place in Murshidabad district's Baharampur, around 200 km from Kolkata, on Sunday night.

"Dhiren Haldar (38), a resident of Nadia district's Tehatta, was arrested from Baharampur on Sunday night. We have seized five 5 mm pistols, two one shutters and a double barrel gun along with 150 cartridges from the accused," the Inspector in-charge of Baharampur police station told IANS.

"Keeping in mind the Independence Day celebrations on Tuesday, the security arrangements and police patrolling has been intensified in the region. Rs one lakh in cash was also seized from the accused," he added.

According to police, Haldar during his interrogation confessed that he gathered all the weapons from Malda and was supposed to smuggle them to Bangladesh.

"The accused was produced before the Baharampur court on Monday. He has been remanded to seven days police custody," the officer added.