Army intel officer, cops among 5 arrested for embezzling 15 kg gold in Bengal: Cops

The accused army and police personnel intercepted a car that had a Rajasthan registration number and allegedly seized the gold and allowed the smugglers to leave in the car.

An army officer was among five men in uniform arrested on Friday for taking illegal possession of 15 kg gold seized from smugglers near Hasimara in Alipurduar district of West Bengal on Monday and letting the culprits go free.

Fifteen gold bars, weighing a kilo each — that were supposed to be evidence — were recovered from the two army personnel and three policemen. (Representative image)

Lt colonel Pawan Brahma and jawan Dashrath Singh of the army intelligence unit at Hasimara, and police officers Anuruddha Thakur, SDPO at Jaigaon in Alipurduar, Satyendra Nath Roy, sub-inspector of Hasimara police outpost and Kamalendra Narayan, former officer-in-charge of the same outpost were arrested after hours of interrogation by state CID officers.

Fifteen gold bars, weighing a kilo each — that were supposed to be evidence — were recovered from the two army personnel and three policemen.

CID officers said that on September 10 the army intelligence unit received information that a huge quantity of gold would be smuggled from Bhutan. The army informed the officer-in-charge of Hasimara police outpost. A checkpoint was set at Torsha Bridge near Hasimara.

The accused army and police personnel intercepted a car that had a Rajasthan registration number and allegedly seized the gold and allowed the smugglers to leave in the car.

Anand Kumar, inspector general of police, North Bengal, said, “The five have been arrested on corruption charges because they did not report the seizure and allowed the smugglers to go.”

They have been booked for breach of trust, conspiracy and other sections of the Indian Penal Code and West Bengal Police Act.

On Saturday, a court in Alipurduar sent them to police custody for four days.