Delhi Police busts interstate gun racket, seizes 15 pistols

Senior police officers said that in the recent past, several illegal firearm syndicates involved in the supply of illegal arms and ammunition to criminals in Delhi-NCR and adjoining states after procuring them from Madhya Pradesh have been identified

Police on Tuesday said they had busted an interstate gang of gunrunners that supplied over 400 illegal firearms to criminals in Delhi-NCR in the last two years.

Shooting a gun in night (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The special cell arrested two members of the gangon Monday and recovered 15 illegal pistols and 30 cartridges from them, the police said.

“Since the arrested men are members of an organised syndicate, we have booked them under the stringent provisions of the amended Arms Act, which has the provision of a 10-year sentence that can be extended upto life imprisonment,” said deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Jasmeet Singh.

Senior police officers said that in the recent past, several illegal firearm syndicates involved in the supply of illegal arms and ammunition to criminals in Delhi-NCR and adjoining states after procuring them from Madhya Pradesh have been identified .

On December 20 (Monday), the special cell’s southern range team learnt that two members of a syndicate would reach Dhaula Kuan to deliver a consignment of illegal weapons to their contact between 9pm and 10pm. Accordingly, the team laid a trap and caught the suspects after a brief scuffle during which the suspects whipped out their pistols and threatened to open fire at the police. They had arrived in a Tiago car from which the police recovered two bags containing arms and ammunition.

Interrogation of the arrested men, the police said, revealed that the two had procured the firearms and ammunition from an illegal manufacturer and supplier of firearms in Khargone in Madhya Pradesh. The two confessed to have supplied nearly 400 firearms to criminals in Delhi-NCR in the last two years.

“They purchased one semi-automatic pistol for ₹7,000 and sold it for ₹25,000. A single shot pistol cost them ₹1,000 and they sold it for ₹4,000. Kumar was previously involved in nine cases, including murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery and firing on police party. In 2013, Kumar and his associates had shot dead one Pappu in Aligarh to avenge the murder of his brother, Jawahar Singh. He was last arrested in 2015 by the special cell and released a while later,” said DCP Singh, adding that Dinesh had three cases registered against him.