BJP leader Manish Sharma among 7 held with Rs 33 lakh, illegal firearms; in custody till Dec 9

“They were intercepted at about 9 pm Monday when they were travelling in Maniktala area. During a search, illegal firearms, ammunition and money were recovered from them. About Rs 31 lakh were recovered in new Rs 2,000 notes and Rs 2 lakh in Rs 100 and Rs 50 notes were seized. Seven firearms and 89 cartridges were also recovered,” Vishal Garg, Joint CP (Crime), told The Indian Express.

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The accused have been identified as Sayan Majumdar alias Babu, Rajesh Jha alias Raju, Lokesh Singh, Manish Joshi alias Chintu, Krishnamurari Kayal, Partho Chatterjee and Subham Bhomick.

All have a criminal background, police said, adding that they have now been arrested under section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC of 25 (IB) (a) Arms Act. Manish Joshi contested the Assembly elections this year on a BJP ticket.

“We have recovered Rs 10 lakh and one mobile phone from Manish Joshi. He is from Pune,” said an official. The BJP, however, said Joshi was expelled from the party earlier this year.

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“The party had expelled him on June 30. He was Ranigunj party president for a short time. His suspicious behaviour led us to expel him. At present, he does not represent the party in any capacity,” said Dilip Ghosh, state BJP chief.