Man arrested with 12 guns in outer Delhi; police say gang war averted

Police officers said the alleged gangster has told them that arms and ammunition were being arranged for taking on members of their rival gang led by jailed gangster Manjeet Mahal.

A 25-year-old member of a gang led by gangster Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu, and his jailed brother Jyoti Sangwan aka Baba, was arrested with 12 pistols and 47 cartridges after a shootout in outer Delhi’s Kadipur village near Alipur in the early hours of Thursday.

The alleged criminal, identified as Sidharth alias Somveer, fired three rounds at the police team before being surrounded by the special staff personnel of outer-north district. (Representational image)

The alleged criminal, identified as Sidharth alias Somveer, fired three rounds at the police team before being surrounded by the special staff personnel of outer-north district. The police fired five bullets in response, and hit Sidharth in his left thigh.

Police officers said the alleged gangster has told them that arms and ammunition were being arranged for taking on members of their rival gang led by jailed gangster Manjeet Mahal. Police claimed that the recovery of the weapons has averted a possible gang war in the city.

“Sidharth has told us about person who asked him to arrange firearms and ammunition. We cannot reveal the name of that person as our teams are conducting raids to nab him. His interrogation may help us ascertain the conspiracy behind the procurement of arms and ammunition in such a large quantity,” said deputy commissioner of police (outer-north) Brijendra Kumar Yadav.

“The police personnel signaled the man to stop. Noticing the police party, the man fired three bullets at the personnel. The bullets, however, did not hit anyone. In order to restrain the attacker, five bullets were fired by the police. One bullet hit the suspect, and he fell off the bike. The police party overpowered him and recovered 11 pistols and 47 cartridges from his backpack. One pistol that he used in the firing was seized along with three empty bullets,” added the DCP.

During the interrogation, Sidharth, who is from Haryana’s Jhajjar district, told the police that after completing a course in mechanical trade, he started working in the warehouse of an e-commerce company in Jhajjar. There, he met an associate of Kapil Sangwan who persuaded him to join the gang, the DCP said.