Arms smuggler held; 20 pistols, country-made guns seized

A 27-year-old gun-smuggler was arrested in Thane for carrying country-made machine guns, pistols, and live cartridges from Madhya Pradesh to Dhule. The police are investigating the intended recipient and the dealer's network in Maharashtra. The accused belongs to the Sikligar community, known for their history of arms manufacture.

Thane: A 27-year-old gun-smuggler was arrested by the Thane Crime branch’s Zone V for carrying country-made machine guns, 20 pistols, and 280 live cartridges from Madhya Pradesh to Dhule.

The Police crime branch in Thane seized 20 country made pistols 1 country made machine gun, 2 magazines, 280 live cartridges from arms smuggler. (Praful Gangurde / HT Photo)

The accused, Surjitsingh Aavsingh alias Maja, is a resident of Umartigaon in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh.

Earlier, the Crime Branch arrested a man carrying a pistol, during interrogation, he revealed the middleman who supplies these country-made guns from Madhya Pradesh to different states in India.

Vikas Ghodke, Senior police inspector, received a tip-off about the accused visiting Maharashtra with a huge cache of arms. After checking the details, a team was formed and sent to Palasne, Dhule. On July 10, he came to the spot as per the information, and the police arrested him and seized all the firearms.

“We have arrested the accused with 20 country-made pistols, one country-made machine gun, and 280 live cartridges. We have produced him in court and got his police custody up to July 18. Further investigations are on,” Ghodke said.

According to officials, they are investigating who was the intended recipient of the arms cache and finding out about the dealer’s network in Maharashtra.

The police are also investigating if he has any other cases registered against him in other police stations.

Avasingh belongs to the Sikligar community which has a long history of arms manufacture. For generations, the people of this community have been making guns as a craft.

After Independence, arms-making was declared illegal, and so was their profession. Today, they are petty criminals in the eyes of the law and an uncaring society. This is the burden of the Sikligars, a small community of around 15,000 spread over four districts of western Madhya Pradesh.