KOLKATA: Cops have busted a 10-year-old racket in smuggling subtle weapons portions out of the Rifle Factory in Ishapore with the arrest of six persons, including two officials and two contract labourers operating on the high-security defence status quo.
The arrests, coming barely seven months after any other officer from the same status quo was once arrested on equivalent charges closing September, have been “alarming”, senior police officers admitted. The seized weapons included one carbine, seven revolvers and several other rounds of bullets, officers said, and so they have been assembled using portions smuggled out of the Ishapore factory.
The decade-old racket serviced Maoist outfits in India and, in all probability, terror modules working from Nepal, Kolkata Police’s Special Task Force officers said after arresting Ajay Pandit alias Guddu, Jayshankar Pandey, Umesh Roy alias Bhola and Kartik Sahu from Babughat on Sunday. Roy and Sahu, gotten smaller workers on the Ishapore Rifle Factory, have been passing at the consignment to Pandey and Pandit. Interrogation of the four led cops to two junior works managers of the defence status quo, Sukhada Murmu and Sushanta Basu, who have been then arrested.
“The two fingers dealers, Pandey and Pandit, seem to have been involved with the works managers for somewhat a while. They used to acquire fingers via a middleman but, this time, they themselves came right down to Kolkata from Bihar to get the fingers,” STF deputy commissioner Murlidhar Sharma said on Monday. Officials said the same staff had assembled and bought a minimum of 16 INSAS and 4 self-loading rifles after getting out weapons portions from the Rifle Factory within the closing two years.
Arms broker Ajay Pandit also instructed interrogators that they'd been getting fingers from different Ordnance Factory Board establishments. These fingers, he added, have been bought principally to Maoist outfits like the Tritiya Prastuti Committee in India and organisations in Nepal.
Sukhada Murmu and Sushanta Basu instructed interrogators that they'd watch for fingers portions that have been discovered to be defective and have been condemned.
The two works managers used to stay again a few of these condemned portions, that have been supposed to be bought as scrap, and then assist the two gotten smaller workers sneak them out of the factory advanced. These portions have been then smuggled to Bihar, assembled and examined and then bought.
An OFB legitimate confirmed to TOI that Murmu and Basu have been junior works managers of the rank of group-D gazetted officials.
“We are aware of the development and are investigating,” an legitimate said.
The nexus between a section of factory officers and workers and fingers dealers came to gentle for the first time in September 2017 when works manager Shambhu Bhattacharjee was once arrested by the STF. He had allegedly smuggled out portions of 7.62-mm self-loading rifles and 5.56-mm INSAS rifles, that have been bought to unlawful fingers producers. The STF, a couple of days before arresting Bhattacherjee, had picked up any other contractual employee, Lalu, who was once sporting a pistol assembled with condemned portions.
“Bhattacharjee had links with the two works managers arrested on Sunday,” a Lalbazar legitimate said.
The CBI closing October lodged a case of fraud in opposition to a cashier operating in the same factory. Officials said they have been probing whether there was once any link between that arrest and the other arrests.
The arrests, coming barely seven months after any other officer from the same status quo was once arrested on equivalent charges closing September, have been “alarming”, senior police officers admitted. The seized weapons included one carbine, seven revolvers and several other rounds of bullets, officers said, and so they have been assembled using portions smuggled out of the Ishapore factory.
The decade-old racket serviced Maoist outfits in India and, in all probability, terror modules working from Nepal, Kolkata Police’s Special Task Force officers said after arresting Ajay Pandit alias Guddu, Jayshankar Pandey, Umesh Roy alias Bhola and Kartik Sahu from Babughat on Sunday. Roy and Sahu, gotten smaller workers on the Ishapore Rifle Factory, have been passing at the consignment to Pandey and Pandit. Interrogation of the four led cops to two junior works managers of the defence status quo, Sukhada Murmu and Sushanta Basu, who have been then arrested.
“The two fingers dealers, Pandey and Pandit, seem to have been involved with the works managers for somewhat a while. They used to acquire fingers via a middleman but, this time, they themselves came right down to Kolkata from Bihar to get the fingers,” STF deputy commissioner Murlidhar Sharma said on Monday. Officials said the same staff had assembled and bought a minimum of 16 INSAS and 4 self-loading rifles after getting out weapons portions from the Rifle Factory within the closing two years.
Arms broker Ajay Pandit also instructed interrogators that they'd been getting fingers from different Ordnance Factory Board establishments. These fingers, he added, have been bought principally to Maoist outfits like the Tritiya Prastuti Committee in India and organisations in Nepal.
Sukhada Murmu and Sushanta Basu instructed interrogators that they'd watch for fingers portions that have been discovered to be defective and have been condemned.
The two works managers used to stay again a few of these condemned portions, that have been supposed to be bought as scrap, and then assist the two gotten smaller workers sneak them out of the factory advanced. These portions have been then smuggled to Bihar, assembled and examined and then bought.
An OFB legitimate confirmed to TOI that Murmu and Basu have been junior works managers of the rank of group-D gazetted officials.
“We are aware of the development and are investigating,” an legitimate said.
The nexus between a section of factory officers and workers and fingers dealers came to gentle for the first time in September 2017 when works manager Shambhu Bhattacharjee was once arrested by the STF. He had allegedly smuggled out portions of 7.62-mm self-loading rifles and 5.56-mm INSAS rifles, that have been bought to unlawful fingers producers. The STF, a couple of days before arresting Bhattacherjee, had picked up any other contractual employee, Lalu, who was once sporting a pistol assembled with condemned portions.
“Bhattacharjee had links with the two works managers arrested on Sunday,” a Lalbazar legitimate said.
The CBI closing October lodged a case of fraud in opposition to a cashier operating in the same factory. Officials said they have been probing whether there was once any link between that arrest and the other arrests.
Smuggling racket at govt arms unit busted, 6 held
![Smuggling racket at govt arms unit busted, 6 held]()
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May 08, 2018
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