Police have apprehended eight persons, including a juvenile, following three separate operations in Amritsar and recovered 15 sophisticated pistols along with 15 live cartridges, Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Wednesday.
Those arrested have been identified as Satnam Singh, alias Sukha (20), a resident of Pato Hira Singh village in Moga, Bhalla Singh (26) of Manoke Gill village in Moga, Gautam Singh, alias Billa (23) of Ahmadpura village in Tarn Taran, Manvir Singh, alias Gurvir Singh (24), of Vishal Nagar in Ludhiana, Jaskarandeep Singh, alias Jassa (23) of Bhuchar Kalan village in Tarn Taran, Simranjit Sandhu, alias Billa (27) of Nive Tung in Amritsar, Abhi, alias Bawa (25) of Vadda Haripura in Amritsar and a 17-year-old juvenile.
The recovered weapons include three .30-bore Beretta (Made in Italy), one .30-bore PX-5 Storm, one .30-bore (Made in China), eight .30-bore and two .32-bore pistols along with 15 live cartridges. Apart from recovering weapons, police teams have also impounded their two cars being used for criminal activities.
In a release issued here, the DGP said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were allegedly linked to foreign-based arms smugglers and were procuring illegal weapons for further distribution to criminal elements in the region. Investigation has also revealed links of the accused with other associates involved in the illegal arms supply network, he said.
{{/usCountry}}In a release issued here, the DGP said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were allegedly linked to foreign-based arms smugglers and were procuring illegal weapons for further distribution to criminal elements in the region. Investigation has also revealed links of the accused with other associates involved in the illegal arms supply network, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Sharing details of the first operation, Amritsar commissioner of police (CP) Harmanbir Singh Gill said acting on specific information and following a systematic investigation, police teams arrested Satnam, alias Sukha, and Bhalla Singh, when they were travelling in their car, and recovered five pistols along with five live cartridges from their possession.
In another operation, he said, the police arrested Gautam, alias Billa, Manvir, alias Gurvir, and Jaskarandeep, alias Jassa, and recovered seven illegal pistols along with 10 live cartridges, besides impounding their car.
In the third operation, the CP said the police teams arrested Simranjit, alias Billa, following which his associates Abhi, alias Bawa, and one juvenile were also apprehended. A total of three pistols were recovered during the investigation, he added.
He said that probe has revealed that the accused were allegedly procuring illegal firearms from a common source and subsequently supplying the weapons at different locations.
Three separate FIRs under Sections 25 and 25(6,7,8) of the Arms Act have been registered.