A 7mm pistol and a country-made single-barrel gun were recovered during two raids in the city early on Wednesday.

Police arrested three men, including one from the approach to the AJC Bose Road flyover, for possessing firearms.

Senior officers said they received a tip that a group was moving suspiciously near the approach to the AJC Bose Road flyover, which adjoins the south gate of the Victoria Memorial.

A team of officers reached and a man, waiting with his aides, possibly to meet someone. He was identified as Saddam Hussain.

When the cops started questioning Saddam, 32, his associates managed to escape. Officers found a 7mm pistol with a magazine and two cartridges on him.

A resident of Chowbaga in Anandapur in eastern Calcutta, Saddam failed to explain where he had got the arms from. “A case under the Arms Act was drawn up at Hastings police station,” a senior police officer said.

In another case, the police arrested Mohammad Fayem and Mohammad Faiyaz from Topsia Road South for possessing a country-made single-barrelled gun and cartridges.

Sources said Fayem, 30, and Faiyaz, 25, hail from Martin Para in Anandapur. They could not give any valid reason why they were carrying the unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

“We are trying to find out if these are two separate incidents,” the officer said.