Police intern stole 32 firearms from Faridabad station, sold them to criminal gangs

Twenty suspects have been arrested and all stolen weapons recovered after raids across Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

An industrial training institute student on internship with the Haryana Police allegedly smuggled at least 32 firearms from the warehouse for inventories at the Sector 8 police station in Faridabad and sold them to criminal networks in Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, police said on Saturday. Twenty suspects, including the intern, have been arrested and all the stolen weapons recovered, they added.

Police said the accused exploited unauthorised access over months, triggering suspension of an ASI and a departmental inquiry. (File photo)

Police said the thefts took place between October last year and May this year. Of the 32 firearms, 22 were non-prohibited bore weapons belonging to civilians that had been kept at the police station for safe custody, including six foreign-made firearms valued between ₹5 lakh and ₹12 lakh each. The remaining 10 were country-made weapons seized in criminal cases.

The theft surfaced on May 9 when inspector Rajbir Singh, station house officer of Sector-8 police station, inspected the warehouse for inventories and found the civilian firearms missing. A senior crime branch official, requesting anonymity, said the matter was immediately reported to Faridabad police commissioner Satender Kumar Gupta, and an FIR under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Arms Act was registered.

“CCTV cameras were scanned when the ITI student working as computer operator, who hailed from Karnera in Faridabad, came under scanner,” the official said. He was arrested on May 10 and allegedly confessed, naming his cousin from Khairthal-Tijara, Rajasthan, who was arrested the next day. The cousin led investigators to a suspect also from Khairthal-Tijara and subsequently to 17 other suspects.

Officials said SOPs were violated as access to the warehouse for inventories is strictly restricted. An assistant sub-inspector in charge of the facility has been suspended and departmental proceedings initiated after the intern was found to have gained unauthorised access.

A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said station house officers are required to inspect the warehouse for inventories at least once a month. “However, due to work pressure, it is common practice to conduct inspections only once or twice a year to reconcile records. The warehouse for inventories is an extremely secure facility and items rarely go missing,” the officer said.

Yashpal Yadav, public relations officer of Faridabad police, said all 32 weapons and ₹1 lakh in cash were recovered during raids across Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh over the past one-and-a-half months.

Yadav said the main accused joined the police department as an intern in August 2024 while pursuing a one-year computer operator and programming assistant diploma. Police said he gained access to the warehouse for inventories through his work, assumed the firearms were never checked and allegedly concealed them inside his shirt before leaving the police station. Investigation is ongoing, and more arrests are expected, officials said.