Interstate gunrunner nabbed in Delhi, 35 illegal pistols recovered

The firearms and bullets were to be sold to different criminals active in Delhi and Haryana, police added.

A consignment of 35 sophisticated illegally-manufactured pistols and 60 cartridges smuggled into Delhi from Madhya Pradesh by hiding them in secret cavities made inside a car were seized from a 24-year-old alleged interstate gunrunner, police said on Friday. The firearms and bullets were to be sold to different criminals active in Delhi and Haryana, police added.

DCP Yadav said that keeping in view the forthcoming Republic Day celebrations the special cell has been carrying out a special drive against suppliers of illegal firearms in Delhi and adjoining states. (Representative image)

The alleged trafficker of illicit firearms was arrested by a team of the special cell on Thursday afternoon from northwest Delhi’s Pitampura, where he had come to deliver the consignment. He was identified as Ashish Kumar Pandey, a resident of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said.

“Pandey purchased one pistol for R7,500 and sold it further to his contacts in Delhi-CR for R15,000, earning a double profit. The same pistol is sold to a criminal between R25,000 and R30,000,” added the DCP.

DCP Yadav said that keeping in view the forthcoming Republic Day celebrations the special cell has been carrying out a special drive against suppliers of illegal firearms in Delhi and adjoining states. Several teams were tasked to identify and nab gunrunners entering Delhi with trafficked firearms manufactured illegally in Bihar’s Munger, and places in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The prime focus was mounted on syndicates that procured illicit firearms from Khargone, Dhar, Barwani, and Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh.

On Thursday, a police team received information that an alleged gunrunner, Ashish Kumar Pandey, would be coming to Pitampura with a consignment of arms and ammunition in a Swift Dzire car. Around noon, a trap was laid on Shree Kalyan Parshvanath Jain Mandir Marg, where the suspect arrived in the car after around 1 pm.

“The team members surrounded the vehicle and apprehended Pandey. The car was thoroughly searched and 35 pistols along with 60 bullets were found hidden in the secret spaces created in its four doors and the boot. Four pistols were kept in each door while the remaining 19 were kept with the bullets in the spare tyre’s space,” said Yadav.

The DCP said Pandey confessed to being a member of an interstate syndicate involved in trafficking of illegal firearms and ammunition. He had procured the weapons from one Prahlad alias Jaggu in Barwani.

Pandey told the police that after completing his graduation from Kanpur, his financial crisis led him to come in contact with some illegal arms suppliers two years ago.

The police are now looking for other members of the syndicate.