House Of Arms Just Outside Kolkata, 101 Guns, 9 Kg Explosives

Kolkata: In one of the biggest arms recoveries in West Bengal, police today seized 101 guns, 54 rounds of ammunition and 9 kg of explosives from a house in Rabindranagar on the outskirts of Kolkata.

"Yesterday, our special operations group raided a house in Rabindranagar based on a tip-off from a source. During the raid, we recovered more than 100 guns, several rounds of ammunition and a large quantity of explosives," senior police officer Sunil Choudhary told NDTV.

Police say the main accused, Aftab Hussain, was arrested along with four of his accomplices during the raid. According to the police, Hussain lived in the house with his family, using them as a likely cover for his illegal activities.

Senior police officials said they were investigating whether the accused had any links with international arms suppliers.

"Out of 101 guns recovered, 95 are pipe guns, two are 9mm pistols and four single-barrel guns. We are investigating who they were supplying the weapons to and whether the accused have any links to international arms suppliers,' said Mr Choudhary.

Police say while Aftab Hussain was the mastermind of the entire operation, two of his accomplices, Mohammed Selim and Nijam Purkayat were likely involved in selling the arms. The other two arrested were labourers allegedly involved in manufacturing the weapons and explosives. Police have not ruled out more arrests in the case.

All five accused in the case were produced in court earlier today, and have been sent to 14 days police custody.