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Pune cops bust arms-making units in MP village
Pune police on Saturday busted inter-state illegal arms manufacturing and trafficking racket operating from Umarti village in Barwani district of MP, detain 36 and seize huge cache of weapons
Pune: The Pune police on Saturday busted a major inter-state illegal arms manufacturing and trafficking racket operating from Umarti village in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh (MP), leading to the detention of 36 persons and seizure of a huge cache of weapons, officials said.
The operation was conducted after several pistols were seized in Pune city over the last three weeks with the supply links found in Madhya Pradesh, they said. During the operation, carried out jointly with the MP police, 50 furnaces, where weapons were being manufactured illegally, were destroyed, they said.
Addressing a press conference, Ranjan Kumar Sharma, Pune Joint Commissioner of Police, said, “The Pune police conducted a combing operation in Madhya Pradesh. During the investigation of cases registered at the city’s Vimantal and Kalepadal police stations, we received multiple inputs about the pistol making units located in MP. Police from Pune and Madhya Pradesh jointly carried out the action. Raids were conducted at 26 houses across various locations and arms-making units were demolished. A total of 36 people were taken into custody,” he said.
Over the past three weeks, 21 pistols had been seized in Pune. The recoveries included 11 weapons seized by Vimantal Police Station, two by anti-extortion unit-1, three by unit 2, one by unit 3, and four by Kalepadal Police Station. The initial case was registered under Vimantal Police station, invoking Section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Section 3(25) of the Arms Act, and Sections 142, 37(1), and 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act.
During the interrogation of the accused held in the city, it came to light that the weapons brought to Pune were sourced from Madhya Pradesh prompting authorities to plan and carry out the operation, the official added.
According to an officer who took part in the operation, the economy of Umarti village is dependent upon sale of such illegal things. Interrogation and technical evidence indicated that the gang operated under the name “Umarati Shikalgar Arms” or “USA”, supplying illegal weapons to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh.
“This is a supply chain of weapons. Search is on for those who sent these weapons to Pune. Many more individuals are involved in the racket, and inquiry is still underway,” the Joint CP said. A team of 105 police personnel from Pune, led by deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Somay Munde, took part in the operation.
