The Kerala police are investigating new leads in a case where 266 live bullets were recovered from a field in Kozhikode, near the Nellikode bypass. Based on new information, the police have decided to move their investigation to neighbouring Karnataka. According to them, the recovered bullets are used in .22 rifles, which are normally possessed by rifle clubs. Further, the police use these rifles as well, mainly for training purposes.
The scientific examination of the live bullets revealed that these bullets were manufactured by three companies in India and one was of foreign origin, police said. Some of the bullets were 15 years old, while some were around five years old. Sources told IANS that the probe team has identified the manufacturers of some of these bullets and will soon get in touch with them to get their list of clients. The police are also trying to find out more clues by examining CCTV footage of the area from where this was recovered.
It was last week that a team of professionals, who were measuring a piece of land near the uninhabited land, found a few bullet-like articles there. Initially, they thought it might be beads used in making metal jewellery, but a Motor Transport official, who was also present, correctly identified them as bullets.
The local police were informed. On Tuesday, May 10, when a detailed inspection was done by the bomb squad, they found a packet and opened it to find about 255 bullets. During further search, they recovered a target used by Rifle Clubs and it was found out that only one bullet was fired. Preliminary finding of the police probe team hints that the bullets might have been abandoned by someone. The probe team is also focussing its investigation on Rifle Clubs in both Kerala and Karnataka.