A CPM worker from Madhya Pradesh entered the party’s Bengal headquarters carrying a .32 bore pistol while the chief minister was inside on Monday morning.

Suresh Sharma, who claimed to be a zonal secretary of the CPM’s youth wing DYFI, and two men accompanying him were rounded up and taken to Taltala police station for questioning.

Suresh, in his early 30s, told the officers that he had bought the pistol from the Cossipore Gun and Shell Factory a few days back against a “valid” licence.

“The trio were released after Suresh’s gun licence was found to be genuine,” said a senior officer. “There is no ban on carrying a licensed gun to the party headquarters on Alimuddin Street as it is not a vital installation.”

The two men accompanying Suresh were Giriraj Sharma, a party activist from Madhya Pradesh, and Vicky Prasad, a Burrabazar resident. Vicky is an acquaintance of Suresh.

The youths entered the party hub around 10.20am, when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was closeted with Left Front chairman Biman Bose. Party general secretary Prakash Karat was to arrive an hour later.

The trio were sitting on a bench in the portico when the cops noticed a bulge in Suresh’s hip. They immediately took him to an adjacent tea stall, where he was frisked. “We were stunned to find the pistol,” said an officer.

“The .32 bore pistol is mostly used by civilians who have a gun licence. The cops’ version is .38 bore,” the officer added.

“Security at the Alimuddin Street office has been beefed up as the politburo meeting is scheduled for Tuesday,” said an officer at Lalbazar.

Suresh said he and Giriraj had arrived in the city on April 24 and put up in Vicky’s house on Mohammad Karbala Road. He bought the pistol and 10 cartridges the next day.

Vicky’s father Jugal Kishore is a durwan at a Burrabazar highrise.

Party leaders, however, do not seem to be perturbed. “The youth is one of our workers. He had no evil intention,” said a member of the CPM state committee.