Bullet trail leads to Patna Maoist link

Four men from Bihar, one of them with alleged Maoist links, have been arrested in connection with the ammunition haul from a Toyota Qualis that was stopped by cops near Sovabazar on Monday evening.

Police suspect the 5,000 bullets found in the Patna-registered car were meant for Maoists operating in the state.

According to investigators, Mahesh Singh and his two drivers Rajesh Sharma and Ram Prabesh Prasad fled from the car after it was stopped for jumping a signal. The three were on their way to Mahesh’s “business friend” Dilip Mishra.

All four were arrested in a hotel near New Market early on Tuesday. Officers of the Special Task Force (STF) have left for Patna to dig out more information about them. Mishra has a Maoist-link in Patna, said an officer, declining to elaborate further. He was in the city since Tuesday.

“The bullets are all of .315 bore, which the Maoists in Bengal use frequently. The ammunitions were recently manufactured. They were probably being ferried to Calcutta for Maoists,” added the officer.

The Qualis is registered in the name of Patna-resident Rani Singh, a “close acquaintance” of 55-year-old Singh, who used the car. Singh owns a gun shop in Patna and therefore has a licence to buy ammunition. He also owns a small newspaper.

Singh allegedly told police that he had employed Sharma and Prasad for the trip to Calcutta to meet Mishra, who owns a petrol pump in Patna. The trio started from Gaya early on Monday and reached the city via Asansol and Durgapur.

“Singh claims that he came to the city to hand over the bullets to Mishra, who denies knowing Singh,” said an STF officer.

The bullets were made in a factory in Kirkee, Pune, in March. Priced at Rs 55 each, they now sell in the black market for Rs 110-120.

Body found: Jhumjhum Das, 5, was found dead on the 11th floor terrace of a building in the army officers’ quarters, near Alipore zoo, on Tuesday evening.

Her parents live in the servants’ quarters of the complex, where only army officers can reside.

The girl had gone out to play with a couple of other children on Monday evening and was missing since then.

Police said there was no injury on the body.