kolkata

Updated: Aug 18, 2018 22:20 IST

Officers from Suti police station in Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Saturday arrested a class 11 student of Kaliachak High School in adjoining Malda district and seized from him 20 improvised pistols and 100 cartridges. The arrest was made in the afternoon in the Chander more area of Suti.

The 19-year-old youth has been identified as Mostaherul Islam. Police seized from him one dozen 7.65mm semi-automatic pistols, eight 8mm pipe guns, 24 magazines for the 7.65 mm pistols, 84 cartridges of 7.65 mm caliber and 16 cartridges for the 8mm pipe guns.

While the haul is one of the biggest in recent months, it is the involvement of a school student that shocked the police in both districts that are situated adjacent to Bangladesh. Till two years ago, Kaliachak used to be a haven for organised gangs involved in smuggling of guns, narcotics and fake Indian currency notes (FICN). The Malda district police has however managed to arrest most of the hardcore criminals.

Suti police claimed that in Bengal no school student had ever been arrested before with such a huge quantity of arms and ammunition.

Mukesh, Murshidabad district police superintendent, said, “In the afternoon, we received information that two people from Kaliachak would be coming to Suti to hand over a big consignment of arms and ammunition to a middleman.”

Officer-in-charge of Suti police station Biswabandhu Chattaraj and his team kept close watch on a roadside dhaba. When the arms dealers arrived, police nabbed one whole the other managed to flee.

“Mostaherul Islam, 19, used to be a resident of Sherpur-Nimtata village in the Shamserganj area of Murshidabad. But now he stays in the Sultanganj College more area of Kaliachak. He studies in class 11 at Kaliachak High School,” the Murshidabad police superintendent said.

“In recent months, police have seized a huge quantity of arms and ammunition from Shamserganj and Farakka areas. Some people were arrested during these raids. During interrogation, they mentioned Mostaherul. We started monitoring his activities,” Mukesh said.

“Mostaherul came to Murshidabad several times in recent months to deliver arms and ammunition to criminals. He probably escaped suspicion because of his age and background,” a district police official said on condition of anonymity.

The superintendent of police said the arrested student will be produce before a court in Jangipur on Sunday.