Woman caught with firearms arrested in Bengal's Murshidabad

Kolkata, Oct 20 (IANS) The police have arrested a woman in possession of arms in Raghunathganj area of West Bengal's Murshidabad district, officials said.

Five semi-automatic 7 mm pistols and 24 rounds of cartridges were found in the woman's bag on Sunday.

The woman was arrested from the Farakka-bound bus stand in Umarpur area.

Police said that arrested woman has been identified as Sadhana Halder.

Her home is located in Krishnapur village under Lalgola police station.

According to police sources, Sadhana had planned to collect the weapons from National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) area in Farakka and smuggle them to the Sagarpara area of Murshidabad.

The Raghunathganj Police Station was already on the lookout after receiving information from a credible source.

As per the plan, the police surrounded her while she was changing cars in Umarpur.

Sadhana was arrested after the weapons were recovered from her.

"Acting on a tip-off, we were looking for this woman. Today, she was supposed to carry out the arms smuggling. She came out of a car and was about to get into another car when our officers caught her. Pistols and cartridges were recovered from her shoulder bag. She has been arrested. A case has started under relevant sections of Arms Act. We are investigating the matter," said a senior officer of Jangipur police.

There are allegations of arms smuggling increasing in different parts of the state ahead of 2026 Assembly polls.

The Raghunathganj police have described the recovery of five firearms as a huge success.

The officers are investigating whether the arrested woman is involved in any arms smuggling gang or not.

The police will try to find out after questioning her.

The police said that the arrested woman will be produced before the Jangipur court on Monday.

The police took the arrested woman into their custody.

The police are investigating whether the woman had an accomplice.

--IANS

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