The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Kushtia

Police seized an AK-47 assault rifle and one shotgun, along with a huge amount of ammunition, from a microbus at Barkhada Trimohoni check-post on the outskirts of the district town yesterday night.

The law-enforcers said they arrested an Awami League leader and three other persons for carrying the arms and ammunition in the microbus.

They named the four persons arrested from the microbus as Taslima Khan Ankhi, general secretary of Kushtia District Mahila Awami League, Razzaq, 35, of Kalishankerpur area, Rani, a "cadre" of Gono Muktifouz, and micro-driver Shahin.

Acting on secret information, a police team intercepted the town-bound microbus from Daulatpur upazila at about 11:00pm and searched the vehicle. They found out an AK-47 rifle, a shotgun and 82 rounds of bullet and arrested the four.

According to Ankhi's statement police conducted raid on a house at Dangmorka village in Daulatpur upazila and arrested another suspect, Akkas Ali.

Later, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and police jointly conducted drives at different places to net more firearms, as the frontier district is infested with underworld operatives.

UNB, adds: Police arrested two persons and seized 17 rifles from them on a bus at Arappur bus-stand in the town on Tuesday morning.

The arrested persons are Azad Hossain, 32, and Shahidul Islam, 30, of Andolia village in Chougacha upazila of neighboring Jessore district.

"On suspicion, police halted a Rajshahi-bound bus from Khulna at the bus-stand. They searched a bag the two suspects were carrying and found it packed with 17 .22-bore rifles," a police official said about the arms haul.

The two suspected gunrunners were arrested along with the bagful of weapons.

The arms were deposited with sadar thana and interrogation was going on to ascertain whether they are arms traders in the violence-prone frontier districts or connected with any terror networks.