MUMBAI — A routine security check at IIT Bombay’s Hostel No. 1 in Powai uncovered five live 7.65 mm cartridges hidden in a black Safari bag, leading to the arrest of Anand Chaudhary, a 23-year-old from Samastipur, Bihar.

Chaudhary, who dropped out of college, arrived at the campus on February 19 to visit his childhood friend Mishra. IIT security personnel detained him on the spot, questioned him and handed him over to Powai police. Officers booked him under the Arms Act. A court remanded him in custody until February 24.

The cartridges surfaced amid a scuffle between students. Around 1:30 p.m. on February 19, Quick Response Team member Sham Golvinde alerted duty officer Amod Karanje about a fight on the ground floor. Karanje and his team rushed to the scene outside Room No. 93, where first-year BTech students Suraj Dubey and Aman argued over money.

Security intervened. They noticed Dubey and Mishra, who was with him, smelled of alcohol. Hostel rules ban drinking, so the team searched their rooms. Dubey lives in Room No. 93; Mishra in Room No. 115.

In Dubey’s room, guards found liquor bottles and then the cartridges in the front pocket of a black bag on the bed. Dubey said the bag belonged to Mishra. Mishra admitted his friend Chaudhary had left it there.

Police say Chaudhary reached Mumbai on February 12. He asked Mishra to let him crash in the hostel as a guest while he visited his girlfriend for Valentine’s Day on February 14. The trio later went to a movie and dinner. Chaudhary returned to the hostel on February 19, when security nabbed him.

“Mishra knew about the bullets but didn’t think it was a big deal. It’s common in their Uttar Pradesh hometown,” a Powai police officer said. Investigators still don’t know why Chaudhary brought the ammunition or hid it in the bag. No weapon turned up.

IIT Bombay’s administration released a statement confirming a visitor brought the bullets onto campus. “This came to light during a physical altercation in the hostel,” it said. Security followed standard procedure after finding a student drunk: they checked the room, discovered the ammunition and launched an internal probe led by the chief security officer.

The institute handed Chaudhary to police after filing an FIR through sub-inspector Karanje. Police questioned Mishra and Dubey, then released them. Disciplinary action against students will follow institute rules, officials said. The case remains under Powai police investigation.

Chaudhary frequently visits Mumbai, according to officers. They plan to dig deeper into his motives and any prior trips to the campus.