Kolkata, Aug 3 (IANS) The West Bengal Police arrested a Trinamool Congress leader and recovered firearms, live cartridges and a bomb from his house during a search operation in South 24 Parganas district’s Canning area, police officials said on Monday.

The accused has been identified as Alauddin Tarafdar, a resident of Uttar Angadberia village under Dighirpar gram panchayat in the Canning police station area. The police said he is a Trinamool Congress (TMC) booth president.

According to the police, a raid was carried out at Tarafdar’s residence late on Sunday night following a tip-off. During the search, officers recovered a firearm, a small firearm, four live cartridges and a live bomb. He was arrested, and the recovered weapons were taken into custody for forensic examination as well as further investigation.

The accused is scheduled to be produced before the Alipore court on Monday. A police officer said investigators would seek his police custody to question him further.

“An application will be made to take him into police custody for the sake of investigation. We are trying to ascertain why the firearms and explosives were kept there and whether any other persons are linked to the case,” the officer said.

The arrest comes amid a series of arms recoveries in South 24 Parganas and adjoining districts over the past few weeks.

On July 27, the police conducted a joint raid in the Bishnupur area of South 24 Parganas and arrested three persons after recovering two firearms, three rounds of live ammunition and cash amounting to Rs 20,65,900.

Earlier, on June 20, the police recovered 14 long-range firearms and 95 rounds of ammunition from a pond in Basanti in the same district. Two local TMC leaders were arrested in connection with the recovery. The weapons were allegedly concealed in the pond near the residence of Shaokat Gayen.

In another incident on June 15, fishermen casting nets in a pond at Habra in North 24 Parganas found two bags containing eight firearms and 97 rounds of live cartridges. The police later seized the weapons and launched an investigation into their origin and intended use.

–IANS

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