This story is from May 17, 2018

Election foot soldier’s ‘bullet-proof’ protection: Bit of tin, tons of jugaad

Election foot soldier’s ‘bullet-proof’ protection: Bit of tin, tons of jugaad
A man, arrested for fomenting trouble, was seen wearing an improvised “bullet-proof” jacket fashioned out of tin and aluminium sheets.
BASANTI (SOUTH 24-PARGANAS): If Kevlar is hard to come by, tin and aluminium will do. The latest example of the good old-fashioned sense of jugaad was found in the violence-hit Bengal panchayat polls, when a man, arrested for fomenting trouble, was seen wearing an improvised “bullet-proof” jacket fashioned out of tin and aluminium sheets.
Police arrested three persons, including one wearing the innovative jacket, and recovered a huge cache of arms from Nebukhali village in Basanti on Wednesday.
The arrests were made after uninterrupted violence in the Basanti area for the last couple of days between two groups of Trinamool Congress supporters.
GUN

“We have arrested three persons, including Akram Mollah, who was wearing a jacket made of metal to save himself from bullets. This is unique and we are sure that there are more jackets like this, which are used for the purpose of violence. Apart from that, two doublebarrelled revolvers, a single-barrel revolver, 25 bombs and a stash of gunpowder were also recovered. We are continuing our search,” said a senior police officer.
According to the police, the tin jacket is a unique armour to protect one from bullets of splinters. A mustard-oil container is cut into the shape of a one-foot vest and then an aluminium sheet is fixed near the chest. “Though it is not strong enough to resist bullets from an SLR, it can resist bullets from country-made guns,” the officer said.
According to locals, the clashes were a result of rivalry between two groups of Trinamool — one the youth wing of the party, and the other senior group. “The youth group, led by a senior Trinamool leader, is trying to humiliate us. They are contesting as independent candidates in different places and creating disturbances in several areas like Nirdeshkhali, Nebukhali, Majidbati and Phulmalancha. More than 200 supporters have been injured,” said local Trinamool leader Mantu Gazi.
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