Arms smuggler held, 15 pistols seized, say Delhi Police

The arrested man, identified as Ishab, has been booked under Section 25(8) of the Arms (amendment) Act, 2019, which provides for a 10-year minimum sentence that can be extended till life

The special cell of the Delhi Police has arrested a 39-year-old man who allegedly procured illegal arms and ammunition from Madhya Pradesh and supplied them to criminals in Delhi, the National Capital Region, other parts of Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.

This is the second seizure of illegal firearms and ammunition in Delhi by the special cell between September 1 and September 3 (Shutterstock)

He was nabbed near Modi Mill in South Delhi on Friday, the police said, adding that they seized 15 semi-automatic pistols and 30 cartridges from him.

The arrested man, identified as Ishab, has been booked under Section 25(8) of the Arms (amendment) Act, 2019, which provides for a 10-year minimum sentence that can be extended till life, said deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah.

This is the second seizure of illegal firearms and ammunition in Delhi by the special cell between September 1 and September 3. In the first operation, 58-year-old Ram Krishan Singh alias Master, a habitual trafficker and supplier of illegal firearms and ammunition from Bihar, was arrested with 200 cartridges with five pistols that he had brought to the city to deliver them to criminals of Delhi-NCR. Singh was previously arrested in 2018 with 407 cartridges that were meant to be supplied to Maoists in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, the police said.

In the latest operation, Ishab was arrested after the special cell team received information that he would be delivering a consignment of arms and ammunition to his contact in Delhi on September 3. Ishab’s interrogation revealed that he had received the supply of the seized pistols and bullets from a supplier in Khargone in Madhya Pradesh.

“Ishab told us that he purchased one pistol between ₹10,000 and ₹12,000 and sold it for ₹20,000 to his counterparts or criminals in Delhi-NCR, Haryana and western UP. He has been into the illegal trade for the past three years and has supplied over 500 pistols in Delhi-NCR alone,” added Kushwah.