Guns stolen from Balapara forest beat office, cops baffled

Thieves have stolen loaded guns from the beat office, a day before Mamata's visit.

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Police remain clueless about the guns that were stolen from the Balapara on the night of December 26.

The police and the forest department remain clueless about the two guns that were stolen from the Balapara forest beat office on the night of December 26. The office is located just near the Balapara camp that houses Bodos who left their villages in Assam on December 24 for the fear of a backlash from Adivasis.

“We have pressed two elephants and the police have brought sniffer dogs to trace out the missing guns, but so far there has been no results,” a forest department official told The Indian Express.

“On December 27, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was supposed to visit the camp and the administration geared up for the visit. Things became tense when we learnt that in the evening of December 26, the beat office had been pilfered and thieves had stolen a rifle and a double-barrel gun, both loaded. We were relieved when the chief minister cancelled her visit. It seems that the thieves used the chaotic situation from December 24 to their advantage when the refugees came rushing from Assam and settled at Balapara,” the official added.

There are suspicions that the guns might have been smuggled into Assam and have fallen into the hands of militants. “If the guns fall into the hands of militant outfits, there is no possibility of recovering them,’’ a panchayat official of Balapara said.

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