Gun shop in BBD Bagh suspected of Arms Smuggling, raided by STF

In a crackdown, the Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police raided a gun shop in Kolkata’s BBD Bagh area on Saturday morning and detained two employees, Shantanu Sarkar and Jayant Dutta. The raid followed a six-hour stock examination conducted on Friday as part of an ongoing investigation into illegal arms possession.

The probe began after a fired cartridge and firearms were recovered from a residence in Canning, South 24 Parganas, on February 14. During the interrogation of 70-year-old Haji Rashid Molla, whose house was raided, the names of three individuals—Ashiq Iqbal Gazi, Abdul Salim Gazi, and Jayant Dutta—emerged. All three were arrested, along with Shantanu Sarkar, who was apprehended on February 17.

During Friday’s investigation, STF officers found discrepancies between the number of cartridges recorded in the shop’s stock register and those discovered in the accused's possession. The shop’s allocation of bullets, meant for legal sales, is suspected to have been diverted to arms smugglers. The gun shop was sealed immediately after the raid, and STF officers are conducting regular inspections.

Sources indicate that the investigation is focused on identifying the individuals who purchased cartridges and firearms from the shop in recent years. The STF is determined to uncover the full extent of the illegal arms network linked to the gun shop.