Explosives seized in Bengal's Siliguri, three Nepalis held

Three Nepali citizens were arrested with a huge quantity of explosives in Siliguri in West Bengal's Darjeeling district, the state police said on Sunday.

"As many as 609 gelatin sticks, 200 detonators and 640 metres of cordex cables were seized from the trio," Siliguri Police Commissioner C.S. Lepcha told media here.

A Siliguri court later remanded the accused in police custody for seven days.

The police officer said Krishna Prasad Adhikari was arrested after a tip-off near Darjeeling More in Pradhannagar police station jurisdiction on Saturday night.

Following his interrogation, Dawa Shering Gurung alias Lama and his wife Puja Gurung were picked up from a house in the neighbourhood.

"It seems they were supposed to deliver the explosives. We are trying to ascertain whether the trio has links with Nepal's Maoists or insurgents active in India's north-eastern states," he said.

"The couple were running a small hotel for a year in Siliguri," a local resident said.

The couple is from Nepal's Khandbari area, the headquarters of Sankhuwasabha district, while Adhikari is from Nangin in Panchthar district of the Himalayan nation.

--IANS

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