Man arrested with 12 pistols in Delhi-Faridabad border

New Delhi: The special cell of Delhi Police on Thursday said they had busted an interstate syndicate involved in sale and supply of illegal firearms after arresting a 24-year-old member of the gang with 12 pistols and as many cartridges

New Delhi: The special cell of Delhi Police on Thursday said they had busted an interstate syndicate involved in sale and supply of illegal firearms after arresting a 24-year-old member of the gang with 12 pistols and as many cartridges.

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The arrested gunrunner, Dhruv alias Pappi from Rajasthan, was caught on Tuesday from near Delhi-Faridabad border following information that he would be coming there to deliver a consignment of arms and ammunition to his contact from Delhi, the police said.

Previously involved in four cases of dacoity and an arms smuggling case registered in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, Dhruv had been procuring illegal firearms and ammunition from unauthorised manufacturers at tribal areas in Khargone in Madhya Pradesh and supplied them to criminals in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), Haryana, Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh for the past three years, said deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Jasmeet Singh.

“Since he is part of an organised syndicate, we have arrested him under section 25 (8) of the amended Arms Act having the provision of a minimum sentence of 10 years that can be extended upto life imprisonment,” the DCP said.

During the interrogation, DCP Singh said, Dhruv disclosed that he earlier worked as a carrier of illegal firearms for an arms trafficker of Rajasthan. But subsequently he developed his own network of sellers, suppliers and receivers that formed an interstate syndicate.

“Dhruv procured one semi-automatic pistol in Khargone for ₹10,000 and sold it to his client for ₹25,000, making a profit of nearly ₹15,000. A single shot pistol was purchased for ₹3,000 and sold for ₹6,000. He confessed to having supplied over 400 illicit firearms in Delhi-NCR in the last three years. Efforts are on to nab other members of the network,” added Singh.

Police said in 2019, Dhruv along with his six associates had intercepted a truck loaded with edible oil near Agra in Uttar Pradesh, abducted its driver and helper and looted the edible oil valued over ₹50 lakh at gunpoint.

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