BSP MLA held at Goa airport carrying live cartridges

The luggage was frisked and ten live cartridges of .32 bore pistol were recovered. He claimed that he possessed a valid arms license but he was arrested and brought to the police station,” said Sammy Tavares, police inspector, Vasco police station while talking to The Indian Express over telephone.

However, Siddiqui initially claimed that he had no knowledge about the presence of the live rounds in his luggage. “During questioning, Siddiqui claimed that he along with Fareen, came to Goa on December 16 and his second wife, Shaheen, also reached there on December 17 from Gujarat. He stated that while he possessed a license of a .32 bore pistol his wife Shaheen possessed a license of a .30 bore pistol,” added Tavares.

Siddiqui told the police that Shaheen came to Goa with a bag and left from there the same day in the evening, leaving the bag behind. “He said that the cartridges were present in that bag and he had no knowledge about it,” Tavares said.

Siddiqui was booked under Section 25 (illegal possession of arms and ammunition) of the Arms Act and other sections of the IPC. However, he was granted bail after he deposited a surety of Rs. 35,000.