Nalanda (Bihar) [India], April 6 (ANI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday conducted searches at 10 locations in Bihar's Nalanda in a multi-state illegal arms and ammunition trafficking case, originating from the state and spread across various parts of Northern India.

The raids are underway from early morning with multiple NIA teams, in close coordination with the state police force, carrying out the operations at the premises and hideouts of suspects linked to the case the agency registered last year.

In December last year, the NIA had arrested the linchpin, identified as Kamalkant Verma alias Uncle Ji, from Bihar's Patna-- the 11th accused in the case (RC-01/2025/NIA/PAT).

The NIA investigations have revealed that Kamalkant played a vital role in the syndicate, involved in procuring ammunition illegally from various gun houses of Haryana and other places. 'The ammunition was then smuggled to Uttar Pradesh and further delivered to Bihar and other parts of the country.'

Before the arrest of Kamalkant, the NIA had also conducted searches on December 4, 2025, at 23 locations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana, which led to the arrest of four other accused - Ravi Ranjan, Shashi Prakash, Vijay Kalra and Kush Kalra. The searches, conducted then, had also resulted in multiple arms and ammunition seizures.

The fresh action marks an important step in NIA's ongoing investigation into the case, and in its efforts to dismantle the supply chain linked with illegal arms and ammunition smuggling in North India.

Meanwhile, the Special NIA Court on Saturday extended the custody of two Bangladeshi nationals for a further 9 days.

They were arrested by the NIA from West Bengal in March and brought to New Delhi on a transit remand. They were produced before the Special Judge at NIA Headquarters due to security reasons.

It is alleged that they are accused of the murder of Bangladeshi political activist Sharif Osman Bin Hadi in Bangladesh. They had fled into India through the Meghalaya border illegally. They were apprehended in Bongaon when they were trying to go back to Bangaladesh.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Prashant Sharma extended the NIA custody of Rahul alias Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Hossain for a further 9 days. (ANI)