E-Paper
Mohali police bust weapon supply chain, arrest five
Police have also arrested a local operative of Canada-based gangster Prince Chauhan and brought three jailed gangsters to Mohali, leading to recovery of 24 highly mechanised country made firearms
With the arrest of an illegal arms dealer, the Mohali police have busted an inter-state weapon supply chain providing weapons to gangsters across Punjab.
Police have also arrested a local operative of Canada-based gangster Prince Chauhan and brought three jailed gangsters to Mohali, leading to recovery of 24 highly mechanised country made firearms.
The arms dealer, Vikrant Panwar, alias Vicky Thakur, 32, hails from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, while Chauhan’s associate Deepak Singh, alias Rana, 32, is from Naraingarh, Ambala.
The three gangsters brought on production warrants from different jails are Rahul, alias Dana, 27, of Jandiala Guru, Amritsar; Buta Khan, alias Bagga Khan, 33, of Takhar village, Malerkotla; and Ravinder Singh, alias Kali, 28, of Azad Nagar, Balongi, Mohali.
Addressing the media on Thursday, Mohali SSP Sandeep Kumar Garg said Vikrant had been supplying illegal arms to various gangsters, including Chauhan, whose accomplices were behind the attack on gift shop owner Rohit Gupta in Jhampur village on June 8.
Garg said Vikrant used to take orders and further procured weapons from illegal arm manufacturers in Madhya Pradesh. He was also providing repair service and replacement in case the weapons developed snags.
Through interrogation of all accused, police recovered 22 pistols and two guns, along with 12 live cartridges. Police sources said each pistol cost around ₹60,000.
The SSP said police had also zeroed in on two more suspects who were operating in close coordination with Vikrant. Their arrest will lead to more revelations about the illegal arms supply chain in Punjab.
