Three held with arms, ammunition

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, Feb 9, 2018, Kalimpong: Kalimpong police on Thursday evening arrested three persons, including two from Manipur and one from Jalpaiguri district, from Gorubathan on the border with the Dooars and recovered an automatic weapon and some live ammunition from their possession.

The arrested trio - Minlun Lenthang and Lalchungnung Sinson from Manipur and Chandan from Jalpaiguri district - were produced in a Kalimpong court on Friday and charged under the Arms Act and for criminal conspiracy.

The court remanded them in four days' police custody.

Ajeet Singh Yadav, the superintendent of Kalimpong police, said the police were trying to ascertain the antecedents of the three. "We have taken them in police remand. We want to understand the north-east link and find out why the arms were brought here, and from where," he said.

Intelligence sources said the three appeared to be animal poachers and not linked with any militant organization either in north Bengal or the north-east. "Poachers from Manipur, particularly the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district of the north-eastern state, are known to be very active in the jungles of the Dooars, particularly in places like Jaldapara and Gorumara national parks," said a source.