Woman held with weapons, 200 rounds of ammunition in WB; cops suspect inter-state arms racket link

Kolkata, Jul 19 (PTI) A woman was arrested in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on Sunday with a huge cache of arms and ammunition and police suspect that she had links with an inter-state weapons smuggling racket in Bihar's Munger. Acting on a tip-off, Puja Biswas was intercepted by the state's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) while she was travelling in a vehicle from Naihati to Habra, an official said. Upon searching he belongings, officials seized firearms, around 200 rounds of ammunition, 12 magazines, Rs 12,000 in cash and two mobile phones, he said. A train ticket to Jamalpur in Bihar was also found, prompting suspicion that the arms had been brought into West Bengal from Bihar, the officer said. According to police, Biswas had been living in a rented house in the Habra area and had previously been arrested in connection with a case registered at Dattapukur police station. Preliminary investigation suggests that the accused was planning to supply the firearms in the Habra area after procuring them from Bihar's Munger, a region known for illegal arms manufacturing, police said. The CID suspects the involvement of an inter-state arms smuggling network and is trying to identify other members of the racket. Investigators believe the woman entered West Bengal by train from Bihar, got down at Naihati and was on her way to Habra when she was apprehended. PTI PNT NSD