BAREILLY: In a major development, the Sambhal police found a connection between the Sambhal violence and Pakistan, as an empty cartridge of a bullet made in Pakistan was recovered from the incident site on Tuesday. Six cartridges were recovered from the drains at the incident site. One of them was made in Pakistan, while another was manufactured in the USA. The cartridges were recovered during a drive by the forensic team with the Municipal Corporation team.
The violence in Sambhal erupted when a large crowd gathered near a mosque and began chanting slogans as a survey team resumed its work.
"On Tuesday, the forensic team arrived at the Kot Garvi neighbourhood, where violence occurred on November 24 during the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. The team found six cartridges in the drains. One of these empty cartridges was manufactured at the Pakistan Ordnance Factory," said Additional SP Shrish Chandra. Soon after the recovery, security agencies were alerted and rushed to the spot.
Confirming the recovery of the cartridges and the possibility of a Pakistan connection with the violence, Moradabad’s Divisional Commissioner Aunjaneya Singh told TOI, "One of the cartridges had 'POF' (meaning Pakistan Ordnance Factory) written on it. It is a 9 mm cartridge, and the bullet was shot. It is suspected that it is made in Pakistan. Another 9 mm cartridge with 'FL with two stars' is possibly made in the USA. Additionally, two 12-bore and two 32-bore shell casings were found. The police team is still conducting a search operation using metal detectors. We are taking the help of the Municipal Corporation in the drive."
SP Sambhal said, "Two SITs were formed to carry out the investigation of the Sambhal violence. One of the investigation officers carried out a search operation with the support of the Municipal Corporation and recovered one made in Pakistan and one made in the USA cartridge, along with four other cartridges.
"The recovery of international cartridges is shocking for the police, and it will be investigated thoroughly with the help of investigation agencies. In the past, NIA took the help of local police in collecting information about criminals involved in anti-national activities. We will check the history of all criminals with any connection to terrorism and check if they were involved in the violence."
Kanwardeep Singh, an MBA and a journalist by accident, writes on ...
Read MoreKanwardeep Singh, an MBA and a journalist by accident, writes on crime against women, health and wildlife for TOI. Digging deeper for informational writing and piquing interest of readers are his USP.
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