Ex-Bodo militant held for making guns at rented house in Bathinda

Police said two country-made pistols and two semi-finished guns were recovered from Sanjay Bodo’s rented house in Model Town, Bathinda

A 36-year-old former member of Assam’s now-defunct Bodo Liberation Tiger Force (BLTF), Sanjay Bodo, was arrested on Monday for running a gun-manufacturing unit from a rented accommodation here. Police said two country-made pistols and two semi-finished weapons were recovered from his house in Model Town, Phase-1, locality.

Assam police authorities confirmed that Sanjay Bodo, who was arrested for making guns at a Bathinda house, had surrendered in 2003 and after that he disappeared. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Police said it was for the first time in recent years that an improvised weapon manufacturing unit was found in Punjab.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Aaswant Dhaliwal said several tools used to manufacture arms were also seized. It is being probed whom he was supplying the weapons to, the DSP said.

“We had inputs about a suspicious person. On questioning, the person turned out to be an active member of Bodo Liberation Tiger Force. Assam police authorities confirmed that Bodo had surrendered in 2003 and after that, he disappeared,” said Dhaliwal.

Police said Bodo was staying alone in the rented accommodation since July. The accused left Assam and did odd jobs at various places outside before landing in Bathinda four months ago.

“Bodo has revealed identify of his old friend, a plumber from Muktsar, currently residing in Bathinda with his family. Teams are trying to locate him to find out if he too was involved in manufacturing illicit arms. His background is being verified,” said the DSP.