Arms And Ammunition Seized By CBI During Search Operation In Bengal's Sandeshkhali

The CBI on Friday unearthed arms and ammunition during its search at a house in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali in connection with its investigation into an attack on an ED team by a mob allegedly instigated by now-suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, officials said.

Five teams of CBI officials, with support from West Bengal Police and central forces including National Security Guard (NSG), conducted the search at the house in Sarberia in Sandeshkhali area of North 24 Parganas district, a senior official said.

"We had received specific information regarding the stockpiling of this huge cache of arms and ammunition, and explosives. A total of 12 firearms, including foreign-made pistols, have been seized. Explosives stacked inside boxes have also been found. The search operation is underway," the official told PTI. The owner of the house, identified as Abu Taleb Mollah, is a relative of Shajahan Sheikh, sources in the CBI said.

"It is not yet clear why such a huge cache of arms and ammunition, and explosives were stacked inside the house," they said. The house, which was cordoned off by the security forces, was built amid water bodies used for fish farming.

Central forces were using metal detectors outside the house to check whether more arms and ammunition were buried. A robotic device was also deployed for the purpose.

On January 5, an ED team was attacked in Sandeshkhali -- a riverine delta bordering the Sundarbans -- where it had gone to raid the premises of Sheikh in connection with an alleged ration scam.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), during its probe, received inputs of a large cache of weapons hidden in Sandeshkhali. Sheikh was arrested by the West Bengal Police on February 29 in connection with the attack by around 1,000 people, in which three Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials were injured.