Police seized six country-made single-shot guns and 14 cartridges from a Bihar resident on Saturday afternoon, five days ahead of the first phase of polls in
Bengal.
Sohail Akhtar, 43, from Bihar Sharif, was arrested when a team of officers from the special task force (STF) of Kolkata Police stopped him near a bus stop close to Rajabazar Science College to search his bag.
The firearms and the cartridges were wrapped in separate packets inside the bag, the police said.
“Akhtar couldn’t provide any explanation about the arms and ammunition,” a senior police officer said.
On April 8, an STF team seized three country-made single-shot firearms, two 7mm pistols and around 40 cartridges from Mohammad Yusuf, an 18-year-old from Bihar’s Nalanda on Strand Road.
Guest house list
Officers-in-charge of police stations in Calcutta have been asked to prepare lists of hotels and guest houses, identifying those operating without valid or renewed licences, and report the action taken against them.
The directive follows recent instructions from the Election Commission to ensure a violence-free poll in line with the “police handbook for general Assembly elections”.
All 10 divisions of the city police have been told to intensify vigils, including night checks.