Arms and ammunition, including foreign-made revolvers and a foreign-made pistol, were recovered as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday carried out searches at two premises of an associate of the now-suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sheikh Shahjahan, in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village, officials said.
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“The CBI seized three foreign-made revolvers, one foreign-made pistol, one Indian revolver, one Colt official issue police revolver, one country-made pistol, 120 nine mm bullets, 50 cartridges of .45 calibre, 50 cartridges of .380, and eight cartridges of .32,” read a statement from the central agency.
“Many incriminating documents related to Shahjahan have also been found. Some items, suspected to be country-made bombs, have also been seized, and those are being handled and disposed of by teams of the NSG (National Security Guards),” the release added.
The searches were carried out in connection with a January attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team by a mob allegedly instigated by Sheikh, who was arrested by the West Bengal Police on February 29.
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Friday's operation, the CBI statement noted, was conducted after the agency received information that items lost by the ED team during the attack, and other “incriminating” articles, could be hidden at the residence of the TMC strongman's associate.
{{/usCountry}}Friday's operation, the CBI statement noted, was conducted after the agency received information that items lost by the ED team during the attack, and other “incriminating” articles, could be hidden at the residence of the TMC strongman's associate.
{{/usCountry}}“Accordingly, the CBI team along with the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) personnel, searched the two premises at Sandeshkhali today. The swift operation resulted in the seizure of the huge cache of small arms and ammunition,” it stated.
The recoveries triggered a war of words between the ruling Trinamool and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While the former accused the BJP of “scheming to undermine” the state TMC government, the saffron party retaliated by accusing the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led party of “colluding with anti-national forces.”
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The West Bengal government, meanwhile, has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta high court decision directing a CBI probe in connection with the allegations of land grabbing and sexual assault in Sandeshkhali. The matter will be heard on April 29 by a Supreme Court bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta.