Student arms racket busted in Kolkata

KOLKATA: Kolkata Police have busted a racket of engineering students smuggling illegal weapons. The matter came to light after the arrest of Ganesh Shankar Roy, a B-tech student at a reputed engineering college in the city.

Roy was arrested by plain-clothes sleuths from a busy junction in south Kolkata on Monday, immediately after he accepted the delivery of a sophisticated foreign-made pistol from an associate.

The police, however, failed to nab the person from whom Roy received the weapon.

South Kolkata deputy commissioner R Suborno said Roy is also suspected to be involved in executing the contract killing of an illegal liquor trader in south Kolkata.

Roy said his classmate had borrowed money from him. Unable to repay it, he offered him his pistol. Roy said he was going to sell the pistol to recover his money.

A senior officer investigating the case said while the police did not believe Roy’s story, it was clear from his statements that he and some of his classmates were involved in smuggling arms.

“While narrating his story, Roy had dropped hints of his involvement in an arms racket. Even if we believe him, it is evident that Roy was confident of selling the pistol since he has access to prospective buyers,” the official said.

c_sumanta@dnaindia.net