Mumbai: Powai Police arrested the second accused, 24-year-old Prashantraj Yadav, from Ujjain in connection with the recovery of live cartridges from a hostel room at IIT Bombay. He was apprehended while returning from a religious tour.
Yadav, a resident of Bihar, works as a real estate agent. According to the police, he allegedly shared photographs of weapons with the earlier accused, who had already been arrested by the Powai Police in the case.
The incident dates back to February 19, when five live 7.65 mm cartridges were found in the room of Apurv Mishra, a first-year B.Tech student at IIT Bombay. Mishra was reportedly friends with Sarvottam Chaudhary, who had been arrested earlier in the case. Mishra had previously informed investigators that Chaudhary had brought the cartridges.
According to the Powai Police, during interrogation, it was revealed that Mishra had kept the cartridges to impress fellow students and gain attention, not with the intention of harming anyone.
Police investigations further revealed that Chaudhary and Yadav had also discussed the possibility of purchasing a weapon. However, the deal did not materialise.
Earlier, on February 22, five live 7.65 mm cartridges were recovered from the bag of a student at the IIT Bombay in Powai during a security check inside the hostel premises. The recovery followed a minor dispute over money between students.
Acting on a complaint filed by a campus security officer, the Powai Police registered an FIR and launched a detailed investigation into the matter.
According to the police, a security officer on night duty was alerted at around 1:30 a.m. on February 19 by the Quick Response Team regarding a dispute between two students on the ground floor of Hostel No. 1.
When the security officer reached the spot, it was found that a verbal argument had broken out between Suraj Dubey, a first-year B.Tech student residing in Room No. 93, and Aman, a resident of Room No. 89. The dispute reportedly stemmed from a financial transaction between the two students.
The hostel security team intervened and managed to calm the situation.
During their interaction with the students, the security staff allegedly detected the smell of alcohol on Suraj Dubey and his friend Apurv Mishra. Since alcohol consumption is strictly prohibited inside the hostel premises, the authorities decided to search their rooms in accordance with institutional regulations.
While inspecting Suraj Dubey’s room, hostel security personnel checked a black bag kept inside the room. From the front compartment of the bag, five live yellow-metal cartridges bearing the marking ‘KF 7.65’ were recovered.
When questioned about the ammunition, Suraj Dubey reportedly claimed that the bag did not belong to him but to his friend Apurv Mishra. During further questioning, Mishra allegedly disclosed that the cartridges belonged to his acquaintance, Sarvottam Anand Satishchandra Chaudhary (23), a resident of Samastipur in Bihar.
According to Mishra, Chaudhary had visited the IIT Powai campus on February 12 and had placed the live cartridges inside the bag during his visit. Senior officials were immediately informed about the development.
On February 19, when Sarvottam Chaudhary returned to the campus, he was detained for questioning. During interrogation, he allegedly admitted to having purchased the 7.65 mm cartridges from Munger in Bihar.
The five live cartridges were turned over to the police station by Security Sub-Inspector Amod Karanje at approximately ten o’clock that evening. Subsequently, a case was registered against Sarvottam Anand Chaudhary under relevant sections related to the illegal possession and transportation of ammunition.
The recovery of live ammunition from the hostel of one of the country’s premier technical institutions has been viewed as a major security concern. The seizure has also raised the possibility of an illegal ammunition supply network, which the police are currently investigating.
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File photo/IANS
–IANS
