Four arrested in cartridge-laden car case

KOLKATA - Four people were Tuesday arrested in connection with the seizure of a car laden with cartridges in the city Monday, police said, adding the ammunition could be meant for Maoist guerrillas or an Islamic terrorist outfit.

“The four were arrested from Howrah town Tuesday. Three of them were in the car which was seized near Shovabazar Metro station in the northern part of the city,” Special Task Force (STF)chief Rajeev Kumar said.

The vehicle, which had a Bihar registration plate, was spotted by a traffic sergeant after it jumped a traffic signal near the metro station and the three occupants fled after he sought papers of the car.

Policemen then searched the car and found 5,000 cartridges hidden in it. The investigation was handed over to the STF, which found that the car was registered in the name of a Patna-based woman. Her husband, Mahesh Singh was picked up from Howrah Tuesday morning.

Following police interrogation, Mahesh confessed that the cartridges were being taken in the car to be delivered to Dilip Mishra in the city. Mishra, also from Patna, was arrested later in the day.

The STF personnel also arrested two drivers, Rajesh Kumar Sharma of Nalanda and Patna’s Ram Pravesh Prasad, who were in the car along with Mahesh.

Rajeev Kumar said the final destination of the cartridges was not clear yet. “We are not ruling out any possibilities. We are probing various angles. It could have been meant for the Maoists. Or it could have some HUJI (Harkat-ul Jihad Islami) link,” he said.

The car, which came to West Bengal from Patna Monday, travelled to Hooghly and Burdwan, and was scheduled to take the National Highway-2 which passes through the Maoist-infested West Midnapore.