Kolkata, March 22 (IANS) Ahead of the Assembly elections, a firearm with an expired licence and live cartridges were recovered from the vehicle of a former Congress MLA in West Bengal's Malda district. Police arrested six individuals in connection with the incident.

The arrested persons were produced before the Malda District Court on Sunday, where they were remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.

With the Assembly election schedule announced and the Model Code of Conduct in force, surveillance teams and checkpoint inspections are being intensified across the district. As part of routine checks, police were conducting inspections at Chechumore in Old Malda on Saturday morning.

At around 11 a.m., a four-wheeler bearing a Congress party flag was intercepted and searched. A 7 mm pistol, a magazine, and eight rounds of live ammunition were recovered from the dashboard compartment of the vehicle.

During preliminary interrogation, police found that the firearm was a licensed weapon belonging to former Congress MLA from Manikchak constituency, Md. Mottakin Alam. A photocopy of the licence was also produced. However, police ascertained that the licence had expired on September 20, 2022.

Since the firearm was not registered in the name of any of the occupants present in the vehicle, six persons were arrested.

The arrested individuals were identified as Hanjala Sheikh, Mohammad Asif Iqbal, Mohammad Nurul, Mohammad Tasem Ali, Wasim Akhtar, and Rabiul Islam. All are residents of the Kamalabari area in English Bazar. A case has been registered under the Arms Act.

District Congress leader Mantu Ghosh said: “We received information about the incident on Saturday. A firearm was recovered from a vehicle belonging to Mottakin Alam, Vice-President of the Malda District Congress and former MLA from Manikchak constituency. The recovered weapon is a licensed firearm belonging to him.”

Mottakin Alam told a section of media persons: “That is my licensed firearm. I carry it with me every day. The day before yesterday, after returning home, I forgot to remove the weapon from the car. The following day, on the occasion of Eid, my family members took the car out for a drive. It was during this time that the police recovered the firearm during a checkpoint inspection.”

An official from Malda Police said: “On Saturday, a firearm was recovered from a vehicle during a routine checkpoint inspection. Six individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident. An investigation is underway.”

--IANS

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