A boatman waited quietly at Rajjakutola Ghat, scanning the banks for passengers. But the scene was anything but ordinary. Wearing fake hair, a full beard and moustache, a vest and lungi, with a towel tied around his neck, the man was actually a police officer from Jharkhand’s Radhanagar police station area. Inside the boat, three of his colleagues, dressed in towels and lungis after shedding their uniforms, sat as passengers, carefully blending into the everyday rhythm of the ghat.
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Around 7 am on Wednesday, a criminal from Jharkhand boarded the boat carrying a bag full of firearms, accompanied by other passengers. The destination was Charbabupur Ghat under Malda’s Kaliyachak police station.
Arms seized mid-Ganges
When the boat carrying ten passengers reached the middle of the Ganges, the police officers disguised as passengers began searching the bag carried by Sabbir Sheikh, who was travelling from Jharkhand to Malda. During the search, they recovered five 7mm pistols, five magazines and 21 rounds of ammunition.
Police said Sabbir was heading to Kaliyachak to supply firearms to a specific address. Malda Superintendent of Police Abhijit Bandyopadhyay said, "The arrested Sabbir’s home is in the Radhanagar area of Jharkhand’s Sahibganj district. Acting on advance information, a special police team disguised as boatmen and passengers arrested the criminal. However, two people who were with him returned from the ghat. They will also be traced through interrogation."
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Boatman disguise operation
Kaliyachak, Mothabari and Manikchak are located along the Ganges River, with Jharkhand lying on the opposite bank. Passengers cross the river daily using motorised boats along this route. After receiving information about arms smuggling through the waterway, police officials adopted the boatman disguise to intercept the consignment.
Four police officers sat in the boat dressed as boatmen, wearing fake hair, beards, moustaches, vests and lungis. A real boatman was also present and had been informed of the entire operation beforehand and instructed to remain silent. The Superintendent of Police described the operation as a success for the district police and said an investigation has begun to identify the inte
