LoP Adhikari accuses Bengal Police of releasing Trinamool Councillor held with firearms without probe

Kolkata, Sep 22 (IANS) The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in West Bengal Assembly and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Suvendu Adhikari, on Monday, accused the West Bengal Police of releasing without proper investigation a Trinamool Congress Councillor, who was arrested late last week along with a magazine and ammunition while trying to board a Mumbai-bound flight at Kolkata Airport.

On Sunday afternoon, Sheikh Aminul Islam, Councillor of Pujali municipality in South 24 Parganas district, was detained by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport after a magazine and six rounds of 7.65 cartridges were recovered from his luggage while he was set to board a flight.

After initial questioning, as the Councillor was unable to give satisfactory answers on why he was carrying the cartridges and the magazine, and also could not furnish any document authorising him to carry them, the CISF personnel first detained him and then as per protocol handed him over to the local NSCBI airport Police Station on Sunday evening.

On Monday, BJP leader Adhikari had issued a statement accusing the Bidhannagar City Police, under whose jurisdiction NSCBI Airport comes, of releasing Sheikh Aminul Islam without conducting a further probe against him in the matter.

"What was Aminul Islam planning? Smuggling weapons across states? Or trying to hijack the aeroplane? One can also assume that since he is closely associated with his Leader, whose family members are involved in gold smuggling, he thought he too could get away while trying to smuggle firearms!!! Well, he was not wrong! The Mamata Police have released him !” the statement from the leader of the opposition read.

In his statement, the leader of the opposition has accused that the Commissioner of Bidhannagar City Police, Mukesh, had deliberately released Aminul Islam following the instructions of the West Bengal Police Director General Rajeev Kumar, who, according to LoP Adhikari, acts according to the orders of the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

"So one can understand why the TMC Councillor was allowed to get away after committing such a grave offence," LoP Adhikari's statement said.

The Leader of the Opposition had also requested the CISF Director General Praveer Ranjan to release footage of the detention of Aminul Islam at the airport on Sunday, so that the people of West Bengal could understand the "reckless behaviour of the Bidhannagar Police and their motive behind it".

"I would also request Union Home Secretary, Govind Mohan, to intervene and seek a report from the West Bengal government, as to why they did not take action regarding such a grave incident at an important international airport."

--IANS

src/khz