Pramesh S Jain
The JC Nagar police have arrested a 34-year-old NRI after live ammunition and a magazine were allegedly found in a hotel room he had stayed at a hotel in Jayamahal Palace area.
The accused,identified as Arman Mutaahar,had checked into a room at Jayamahal Palace Hotel on the night of April 27 along with a female friend and checked out the next morning,police said.
According to the complaint filed by hotel manager Prakash G.N,the accused later called the hotel reception claiming that he had accidentally left behind his mobile phone and a pouch containing live bullets inside the room and requested the staff to keep them safely.
Following his instructions,hotel staff searched Room No. 225 and allegedly recovered a mobile phone along with a magazine containing seven live rounds.
The items were initially kept at the reception after the accused reportedly told the hotel staff that he would return within a day or two to collect them.
However,when he failed to return despite repeated calls from the hotel management, the staff handed over the magazine and ammunition to the J.C.Nagar police on May 4.
During questioning,the accused allegedly claimed that he had mistakenly brought the magazine and ammunition from the United States.Police said no firearm was recovered from him.
He claimed that he is working for a private firm which worked for the army.The police are verifying his claims.
Investigators are now probing how the live rounds and magazine were brought into India and whether the accused had concealed a weapon elsewhere while pretending innocence.
Police are also verifying whether customs regulations and arms laws were violated.
The accused,who had reportedly come to Bengaluru to visit his sister in RT Nagar,was later arrested and remanded to judicial custody at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison.
