174 swords recovered from Nepal-bound tourist buses

While a joint team of SSB and local police last night recovered 93 swords from one tourist bus, 81 swords were recovered from another bus, SP Jugal Kishore said. Police have detained four persons for questioning, the official said.

Three of those detained, identified as Munnawar, Irfan and Raju, belong to Bankey district of Nepal, while the fourth is a resident of Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh, the SP said.

There were reports of swords being taken not only to Nepal, but also to districts adjoining the border like Gonda and Shrawasti, the SP said.

Suspicion over the motive behind taking these swords increased since no one travelling in the bus owned them, the he said.

The UP Police, which was already on alert in view of the festival season, will be carrying out a massive checking drive following this recovery, the SP said. Those detained were being questioned, he added.