Kolkata Police arrest man with illegal firearms in Bansdroni; crackdown continues
The Statesman | 17 May 2026
Kolkata Police on Sunday arrested a 28-year-old man from Bansdroni area in southern outskirts of the city after recovering illegal firearms and live ammunition from his possession. The arrested individual has been identified as Satyabrata Basu Roy, resident of Niranjan Pally, Kolkata, falling under jurisdiction of Bansdroni Police Station.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs, police teams moved in and apprehended Roy during a targeted operation. Two improvised country-made semi-automatic firearms, along with four live cartridges, were seized from his exclusive possession during the operation.
A formal case has been registered against Roy at Bansdroni Police Station under the relevant provisions of the Arms Act. Kolkata Police confirmed in an official statement that further investigation is currently underway.
“During the operation, two improvised country-made semi-automatic firearms along with four live cartridges were recovered and seized from his exclusive possession,” the police said. “In this connection, a specific case has been registered under the Arms Act at the Bansdroni Police Station.”
The arrest comes amid a sustained push by law enforcement agencies against illegal and criminal activities across West Bengal. Since the BJP formed the state government, police have stepped up action against anti-social elements and have repeatedly moved against Trinamool Congress leaders facing allegations of criminal conduct.
A string of arrests involving TMC-linked elected representatives has drawn significant attention in recent weeks.
In one of the more recent cases, Trinamool Congress councillor Shantanu Majumdar, alias Mejo, representing ward number 14 of Baranagar Municipality in North 24 Parganas district, was arrested on charges of extortion. Barrackpore Police took him into custody. There were allegations that he had been collecting money from residents on the pretext of resolving tenant disputes in residential flats.
On May 9, Bhishmadev Karmakar, Trinamool Congress councillor from ward number 19 of Berhampore in Murshidabad district, was arrested. He faced allegations of obstructing Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury’s campaign during the Assembly elections. Karmakar also holds the position of youth Trinamool president for the Murshidabad organisational district.
On May 6, police arrested Trinamool councillor Rajesh Shah, popularly known as Kukua, from Serampore in Hooghly district. He was charged with punching a police officer and breaking his nose. Shah denied the charges and alleged that the arrest was driven by political motives rather than genuine legal grounds.
Perhaps most strikingly, on May 5, Amirul Sheikh Islam, TMC councillor from ward number 14 of Pujali Municipality in Diamond Harbour, South 24 Parganas district, was arrested under the Arms Act. This is the same law now invoked against Satyabrata Basu Roy in the Bansdroni case.