Weapons seized in central Kolkata, 1 detained ahead of West Bengal polls

Kolkata: Days ahead of the two-phase polling in West Bengal, the Kolkata Police's Special Task Force seized a cache of arms and ammunition near Rajabazar Science College here and detained a man, officials said on Saturday.

Acting on suspicion, STF sleuths intercepted the man, carrying a bag, near a bus stand and recovered six single-shot firearms and 14 cartridges from him, an official said.

Investigators are trying to ascertain where the arms were being taken and to whom they were meant to be delivered.

This development came amid intensified checking of vehicles by setting up roadblocks by police across the state.

In recent days, enforcement agencies have recovered large amounts of unaccounted cash from Kolkata and neighbouring Howrah in separate operations.

The Kolkata Police's South East Division recovered around Rs 25 lakh in cash from a vehicle during a check in the Ballygunge Assembly constituency area on Friday.

Earlier, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) seized over Rs 72 lakh in cash and detained two suspects near Howrah station. The recovery was made by personnel of the Bamangachhi RPF post during a search operation near the Banaras Bridge area of the railway yard in the Howrah division.

Officials said surveillance and checking have been intensified across sensitive locations to curb the illegal movement of arms and cash ahead of the polls.

West Bengal goes to the polls on April 23 and 29, with counting slated for May 4.