WB cops raid PWG den just minutes away from Kolkata

In a shocking revelation, the West Bengal Police today discovered that the Peoples’ War Group had stashed a huge cache of sophisticated...

In a shocking revelation, the West Bengal Police today discovered that the Peoples’ War Group had stashed a huge cache of sophisticated arms and ammunition in a hideout located just 27 kms away from Kolkata.

This was discovered in an early morning police raid at a house in Baidyabati in Hooghly District today. When the police team broke into the house, they found a huge cache of arms ranging from ordinary rifles, AK-47s to 9 mm pistols and bullets of different bores.

They also found explosives and gun parts with the potential to make grenades and single-barrel guns. Apart from this, the police also seized several PWG propaganda leaflets.

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The police team, which raided the house on a tip-off, however, couldn’t find the tenant, Ajit Mandal, who had been living there for the last three years ‘‘as a local self-styled businessman’’. Meanwhile, the police is questioning P. Bannerjee — the owner of the house.

‘‘It was a hideout from where they conducted operations in other districts in south Bengal bordering Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa,’’ said IG Special, West Bengal Police N.C. Ghosh.

It would be recalled that both the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and PWG had been breathing down the neck of the state security agencies after they restarted their campaign three months ago with landmine blasts in Purulia’s Bandowan and last month in West Midnapore’s Salboni.

A police officer revealed that since the PWG and MCC were facing a police crackdown over the last two years in their oldest and well-known strongholds in West Midnapore, Birbhum and Bankura, they are not infiltrating into other districts of South Bengal.

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