The owner of the Reay Road godown from where 11 spent cartridges were discovered by the police, Saremal Pratapchand Jain, arrested under the Arms Act for ‘possessing firearms without a licence’ on Wednesday was granted bail after spending a day in police custody.

Byculla police had arrested him.

The cartridges were discovered when two watchmen, who were arrested for alleged theft of teakwood and plywood from the godown at Mallik Compound, Reay Road, informed the police about some gunny bags lying in the compound beneath a tree. The police had found 11 sacks of spent ammunition, including 228 live rounds.

The Byculla police officials, who are investigating the case, said that Jain used to run a scrap business earlier and might have ordered scrap materials. The cartridges might have come as part of the delivery, they said.

“Jain has leased out the godown to some small units and was not aware of the bullets till we arrived at his doorstep. He owns the area but his business was managed by somebody who had died some time ago. The manager may have placed the order for scrap and might have unknowingly received the cartridges as part of the order. These 11 sacks have been lying unopened for a long time until we found them,” said Senior Police Inspector Tukaram Godge.

Jain had reportedly revealed to the police that he had suffered heart attacks three times in the past and had been advised to take bed rest. “While investigation is still in progress, preliminary findings on the basis of Jain’s interrogation indicate that he was not aware of these bags. However, as the used ammunition was found on the premises of his godwon, he technically has violated the Arms Act and hence we arrested him,” said Police Inspector (Crime) R Nagbhire.

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