Bihar: 3,700 live cartridges seized in Kaimur, two smugglers arrested

Patna, June 23 (IANS) In a major breakthrough, Kaimur Police in Bihar arrested two individuals with a large consignment of live cartridges at the Mohania check post, officials said on Monday.

The arrested accused have been identified as Shatrughan Sharma (38), a resident of Auraiya district, Uttar Pradesh and Kumar Abhijit (25), a resident of Nalanda district, Bihar.

The duo was intercepted while travelling in a white Maruti Breeza on National Highway-19.

Initially, they tried to escape near the check-post despite being signalled to stop. The joint team chased briefly to nab them.

Acting on specific intelligence, a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF), Kaimur District Police, and Nalanda Police conducted a thorough search.

“A total of 3,700 live cartridges were recovered, packed in 60 plastic bags,” said Hari Mohan Shukla, SP of Kaimur, during a press briefing on Monday.

The seized items included 2,950 brass-coloured 8 mm live cartridges in 60 packets and 750 brass-coloured 315-bore live cartridges in four packets.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the consignment was being transported from Kanpur (U.P.) to Bihar Sharif in Nalanda district.

Police sources confirmed that the accused were unable to produce any valid documents for the consignment.

Following their arrest, both were produced before a local court, which remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days.

“The swift and coordinated action of the STF and local police led to the successful seizure. So far, no criminal history has surfaced for the accused, but the father of Kumar Abhijeet is under scrutiny, as his name has appeared during the investigation,” SP Shukla added.

“We have registered an FIR under relevant BNS sections of the Arms Act in Mohania police station of Kaimur district,” Shukla said.

The police are now investigating the wider network and possible connections to illegal arms smuggling. More arrests are likely as the probe continues.

--IANS

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