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Police bust fake firearm licence racket, 8 held
Pune city police busted an interstate gang of fake firearm licence from Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh by arresting eight accused
PUNE: Pune city police busted an interstate gang of fake firearm licences from Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh by arresting eight accused. One country-made pistol, 12 single-bore rifles, and 56 live bullets were recovered by police.
The accused have been identified as Santosh Jainath Shukla, Ramprasad Buddha Paswan, Rajesh Bablu Paswan, Dinesh Jagdish Paswan, all from Uttar Pradesh, and Imran Mohamad Jimi Khan, Mohamad Bilal Mohamad Nisar, Sahil Kumar Chamanlal Sharma and Gautam Deshrai Sharma all hailing from Jammu and Kashmir.
According to authorities, in June, while patrolling near Annabhau Sathe Garden in Wanowrie, officers discovered suspicious conduct of one of the suspects. When the cops approached him, they discovered a country-made pistol and a bogus gun licence in his possession. Following interrogation, the names of six more accused were revealed.
Police detained them immediately after establishing the team and recovered eight single-bore rifles, 28 live bullets, and fraudulent weapons licences from Jammu Kashmir, totalling ₹4.56 lakh.
Following the massive haul of firearms and licences from the six suspects, Wanowrie police sought the district magistrates of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri and Anantnag districts for assistance in validating the recovered licences.
The district magistrate verified in its report in September 2023 that the licences were fake. Wanowrie police then detained Sahil Sharma and Gautam Sharma on Sunday, along with three fraudulent gun permits, 28 live rounds, and four single-bore rifles worth ₹1.26 lakh.
“It was discovered that the accused used fake fire licences in security jobs at various locations including toll plazas, various housing societies, malls, institutes, and banks,” said Bhausaheb Pathare, senior police inspector at Wanowrie police station.
Santosh Sonawane, a police sub-inspector, stated, “Initially, we arrested Shukla; however, during interrogation, the names of the other accused involved came to light, and we have taken action against them.”
Pune city police confirmed that two teams of the Intelligence Bureau and other central investigation teams were conducting a parallel investigation, in this case, to find out whether the accused were working as a sleeper cell for any terrorist organisation.
A case has been registered at Wanowrie police station under IPC sections 467 (Forgery of valuable security), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (Using as genuine a forged document), and sections 120 b of the Arms Act and other relevant sections and further investigation is going on.
