E-Paper
Interstate arms smuggling racket busted, two Bishnoi aides held with three pistols
Another Rajasthan-based operative of the racket, identified as Bhupinder Singh, has also been booked. Said to be the close aide of Lawrence Bishnoi, he supplied weapons to the arrested accused for further delivery to criminal elements, the police claims.
Amritsar rural police on Tuesday busted an Interstate illegal arms smuggling racket backed by gangster Lawrance Bishnoi with the arrest of two operatives, Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said.
Those arrested have been identified as Harshdeep Singh of Ratoke village in Tarn Taran and Shubham Kumar of Guru Nanakpura in Amritsar, officials said.
“Police teams recovered three pistols, including two 9mm Glock pistols and one .30 bore pistol, along with 13 live cartridges and two mobile phones from the accused possession and also impounded their vehicle, the DGP added.
Yadav said that Amritsar rural police have also booked another Rajasthan-based operative of the racket identified as Bhupinder Singh, who is said to be the close aide of Lawrence Bishnoi and used to supply weapon consignments to the arrested accused for further delivery to criminal elements.
“Police teams are conducting raids to nab accused Bhupinder Singh,” he said.
Accused Harshdeep and Bhupinder have criminal backgrounds and have cases pertaining to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and Arms Act registered against them. The duo met while lodged at Ferozepur jail, said Satinder Singh, senior superintendent of police (Amritsar rural).
The SSP said that following a tip-off that accused Harshdeep along with Shubham was going to deliver a weapon consignment, police teams from CIA staff laid a trap in the area falling under Gharinda police station and arrested both the accused when they were travelling in their car and recovered .30 bore pistol along with nine live cartridges from their possession.
“Later, police teams also recovered two 9mm Glock pistols from the location pinpointed by accused Harshdeep, the SSP added.
He said that further investigations are on. More arrests and recoveries are expected.
A case has been registered under Section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station, Gharinda in Amritsar Rural.
