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-By a Parinda Crime Reporter, January 30, 2006, 09:41 IST
Mumbai, Jan 28: The cache of arms seized from a locker of the State Bank of India's branch at Turner Road in suburban Bandra are possibly that of an assassin, who may have planned a strike in Mumbai, but was neutralised by police or could have fled before the plan materialised, Mumbai Police sources said today.
According to the sources, the `Franchi' assault gun seized yesterday is a special weapon generally used for its accuracy to hit the target, and is unlike the Kalshnikovs which are used in large numbers by terrorists groups in Jammu and Kashmir and were used in Punjab.
Since the account was opened when insurgency was at its peak in Punjab, the recovery of detonators, explosives along with the gun certainly suggest that the person who hired the locker may have planned an assassination, which fizzled out eventually, the sources further said.
The bank account records show that there was a minimal monetary transaction, also suggesting that the account was opened only with a motive to hire the bank locker, they added.
"The Franchi gun is generally used by American secret service agents, and is not generally used by terrorists groups although there have been a few instances of recovery of this weapon in Punjab and J&K," Mumbai Police Commissioner, A N Roy later told reporters here.
The cache was recovered after SBI authorities broke open the locker that was inoperative since 1990 and the person who hired it had not paid rent, sources said, adding that several reminders sent to him returned undelivered.
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