MUMBAI: Powai police on February 19 arrested college dropout Anand Chaudhary, 23, from the premises of IIT Powai hostel for allegedly keeping five live 7.65mm bullets in the bag of his friend, BTech first year student Apoorva Mishra. IIT security officials caught Chaudhary when he arrived to meet Mishra on February 19, interrogated him and handed him over to the police for further investigation. Chaudhary was detained until Monday under provisions of the Arms Act. Police said they were yet to ascertain the reason behind Chaudhary’s intention to carry live ammunition and keep it in Mishra’s bag.

Police said the bullet was discovered when security officials searched the student’s room for alcohol bottles after a fight broke out between the students and authorities detected the odor of alcohol. Investigation revealed that when Chaudhary arrived in Mumbai on February 12, he allegedly kept crude cartridges in Mishra’s bag and requested her to let him stay at the IIT hostel as a guest. “Chowdary came to Mumbai to meet his girlfriend and celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14. He claimed that he met his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day after arriving two days earlier and staying in a hostel with Mishra as a guest. He went out for a movie and dinner with Ra and they split up. Mishra was aware that there was a bullet in his bag, but he did not consider it a serious matter as it is considered a normal thing in his hometown of Uttar, “Pradesh,” said a police officer from Powai police station. IIT security sub-inspector Amod Karanje (49) said in his complaint that the incident started after a fight between residents of the hostel. “At 1:30 pm on February 19, Shyam Golbinde from the QRT team contacted the staff on duty and informed them of an altercation between some students on the first floor of Hostel 1. Upon receiving the message, I immediately went to the scene with my team. We saw two students arguing in the square in front of room 93. I have been informed that there is a student named Suraj Dubey and Aman (full name) in room no. 2 (unknown), residing in room no. 89 people were fighting over financial matters,” Calanje said. He said security officials intervened and noticed signs of alcohol consumption, after which they decided to search the room. “At that time, we smelled alcohol from Dubey and his friend Mishra, who was with him. Upon further interrogation, it was revealed that both of them are first year BTech students. Mishra lives in room 115 and Dubey in room 93. As drinking is prohibited inside the hostel, our team decided to check their rooms,” Karanje said in the FIR. The IIT security team, including vigilante KP Sahu and members of the QRT team, first searched Dubey’s room 93, police said. During the search, a black safari bag lying on the bed was searched and five live rounds were found in the front pocket. “The security personnel, who found five live bullets inside a black bag, questioned Dubey. He said that the bag belonged to his friend Mishra. Mishra said that his friend Chaudhary, a resident of Samastipur in Bihar, had come to IIT Powai from his village to meet him on February 12.” At that time, he had brought live ammunition with him and kept it in a black bag,” a police officer said. The officer added that Chaudhary frequently visits Mumbai and was arrested on February 19 when he arrived to meet Mishra at IIT hostel as a guest. He has been arrested under the Arms Act. Further investigation is underway to ascertain the purpose of keeping the cartridge in the IIT BTech student’s bag.In a statement released by IIT Bombay, authorities said the bullets were brought onto the campus by a student visitor living in a hostel. “Both of them are childhood friends. We came to know about this when two students got into an argument at the hostel and security became an issue,” he said.“One of the students was found to be in an inebriated state and as part of standard procedure, security inspected his room and found a liquor bottle. Upon further inspection of the room, live ammunition was found inside the room. No weapon was found. A detailed internal investigation was conducted by the Head of Security and his team and the incident was handed over to the police,” the statement said, adding that disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with school procedures. An FIR was filed and the visitor was produced before a judge and sent to judicial custody. The students were questioned by police and released. The institute said the matter is pending with Powai police.