Delhi Police bust illegal firearms manufacturing unit in UP’s Aligarh

The illegal firearms factory was busted following interrogation of a notorious gunrunner, Shakil alias Sherni, who was arrested on Monday evening following a gunfight with a team of the special staff of outer-north district police in Delhi’s Rohini

An illegal firearms manufacturing unit, which produced four to five illicit pistols every day and supplied nearly 1,000 to criminals in Delhi and adjoining states in a year, was busted in a residential colony in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh by the Delhi Police, senior city police officers aware of the development said on Saturday.

One of the alleged manufacturers of the illicit firearms was arrested from the factory along with 19 prepared and semi-finished pistols, apart from raw materials and tools used in manufacturing of such weapons. (Representative image)

One of the alleged manufacturers of the illicit firearms was arrested from the factory along with 19 prepared and semi-finished pistols, apart from raw materials and tools used in manufacturing of such weapons, they said.

The illegal firearms factory was busted following interrogation of a notorious gunrunner, Shakil alias Sherni, who was arrested on Monday evening following a gunfight with a team of the special staff of outer-north district police in Delhi’s Rohini. Police seized 14 pistols and 38 cartridges from Shakil. The seized consignment of arms and ammunition was to be delivered to the members of a gang led by fugitive gangster Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu and another gang named “Sisodia gang”, said deputy commissioner of police (outer-north) Brijendra Kumar Yadav.

DCP Yadav said that the special staff team interrogated Shakil to ascertain the source from where he had procured the illegal weapons. Shakil revealed that he had purchased the pistols from an illegal manufacturing unit in Aligarh. The police team obtained Shakil’s police remand and accompanied him to a shop in a residential neighbourhood in SaraiMan Singh near Maya Chowk in Aligarh. The shop was raided and Ravi Mahor was caught manufacturing illegal firearms. Another manufacturer managed to flee.

“Several raw materials used in the manufacturing of firearms were recovered such as barrels, triggers, body of firearms along with lathe machine, bits used in the machine and other equipments were recovered. Also, 9 unfinished firearms and 10 finished country made pistols were also recovered,” said DCP Yadav.

A police officer who was part of the operation said that the firearm manufacturing unit was running in the residential colony for the past some years. The illegal activity was done in a covert manner as the shop was actually given the design of a scrap and lathe machine-related workshop.

“The arrested man Ravi Mahor is also involved in a rape case. His uncle Mukesh was also present at the shop at the time of the raid. But he managed to escape. Mahor disclosed that four to five pistols were manufactured daily. On an average, they produced 1000 illicit firearms and sold them to criminals in Delhi and other states through gunrunners like Shakil,” said an investigator.

Police said they were trying to identify the person who ran the manufacturing unit. They were also trying to establish if killed arms manufacturers from Bihar’s Munger and West Bengal were employed there.