The police on Tuesday have dismantled six illegal arms supply networks with the arrest of eight people and recovered 13 illegal pistols along with 23 live cartridges from their possession, said director general of police Gaurav Yadav.
Those arrested were identified as Gurdeep Singh alias Deep, 24, and Dharminder Singh alias Bhinda, 34, both residents of Rangarh village in Amritsar rural, Amit, 23, a resident of Guru Ki Wadali in Amritsar; Harpreet Singh alias Happy Niana, 26, a resident of Narayangarh in Amritsar; Chamkaur Singh, 30, a resident of Waan Tara Singh village in Tarn Taran; Karanpreet Singh, 22, a resident of Noordi village in Tarn Taran; Gaurav, 26, a resident of Katra Karam Singh in Amritsar; and Varun Kumar alias Vicky Gill, 33, a resident of Bhai Manj Singh Road in Amritsar.
The recovered pistols include two .30-bore Zigana, made in Turkey, two .30-bore, made in China, one 9MM and eight .30-bore pistols. Police also impounded a scooter allegedly used for smuggling.
Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were allegedly linked to foreign-based smugglers and were procuring illegal weapons for further distribution and use in criminal activities.
{{/usCountry}}Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were allegedly linked to foreign-based smugglers and were procuring illegal weapons for further distribution and use in criminal activities.
{{/usCountry}}Police have also established links between the accused and other associates suspected of being involved in the illegal arms supply network, he said.
The DGP said that further investigation is underway to establish the backward and forward linkages in this case to identify other persons involved and dismantle the wider illegal arms trafficking network.
Sharing operational details, Amritsar commissioner of police Harmanbir Singh Gill said Gurdeep Singh alias Deep and Dharminder Singh were arrested with two pistols and seven live cartridges.
In three separate operations, he said that police arrested Amit, Harpreet and Chamkaur Singh and recovered three pistols along with live cartridges from each of them.
In another operation, police arrested Karanpreet Singh during a routine naka and recovered one pistol along with six live cartridges from his possession. Police also arrested Varun Kumar and Gaurav and recovered one pistol along with four live cartridges from their possession, he said.
Police registered six separate cases under Section 25 of the Arms Act at the Chheharta, Hakima, Sultanwind and D-Division police stations in Amritsar, the officials said.