5 bullets recovered from IIT-Bombay hostel bag; Bihar visitor held

MUMBAI: Police arrested a college dropout from Bihar, Anand Chaudhary (23), from IIT-Bombay's hostel premises on Feb 19 for possession of five live 7.65mm bullets that were found in a bag belonging to a friend who is a first-year IIT BTech student.

"The friend was aware about the bullets worth Rs 3,500 in his bag. He did not object as it is considered normal in their hometown of Samastipur in Bihar," said an officer, adding they suspect the IITian wanted to show off the ammunition to his roommates. The bullets were found on Feb 19 when IIT-B security personnel searched rooms in hostel number 1 for alcohol bottles after a fight broke out between two students, who were allegedly drunk.

No weapon was found, said police.Police said Anand Chaudhary (23) arrived in Mumbai on February 12 to celebrate Valentine's Day with his girlfriend, and requested his childhood friend to allow him to stay in the IIT-B hostel as a guest. He allegedly kept the bullets in his friend's bag the same day. "On February 14, Chaudhary, his girlfriend, and the IITian went out for a movie and dinner. The friend then returned to the hostel alone," said the police officer.

In his police complaint, IIT-B security sub-inspector Amod Karanje said: "On February 19, around 1.30pm, Sham Golvinde of QRT team contacted our duty officer and informed that there was an altercation between some students on the ground floor of Hostel No. 1...over exchange of money. A few of the students smelled of alcohol... As drinking alcohol is prohibited on the campus, the IIT security team, including K P Sahu, vigilance, and QRT teams, searched their rooms and found liquor bottles as well as five live cartridges in the front pocket of a student's bag.

The student said that his friend, Chaudhary, had kept it in the bag there during his visit on February 12."The same day, Chaudhary arrived at the hostel to meet his friend, and was apprehended by the IIT-B security and later handed over to Powai police.In a statement released by IIT-B, the administration clarified that the bullets were brought to the campus by a visitor of a student residing in the hostel. "Both of them are childhood friends. This came to our knowledge when two students had a physical altercation in the hostel and the security came into the picture.

One of the students was found to be in a drunken state and as part of the standard process, the security checked his room and found liquor bottles. When they did further inspection of the room they found live ammunition (bullets) in the room. No weapon was found.

A detailed internal investigation was conducted by the chief security officer and his team and the case was handed over to the police," mentioned the statement. It added that disciplinary action will be taken as per institute procedures.(Inputs by Yogita Rao)