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Gun racket: BSF jawan posted in Punjab, four others in J’khand ATS net
Raids in Bihar, Punjab and Maharashtra began a fortnight ago after the arrest of a CRPF constable in Jharkhand
A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan posted in Punjab and four others, including a retired BSF head constable, have been arrested by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) of Jharkhand Police during raids in multiple states for allegedly stealing and supplying ammunition to interstate gangs and Maoists, the police said on Thursday.
Police claimed to have recovered around 9,000 rounds of ammunition, semi-automatic pistols, magazines, detonators and empty shells from different locations during its raids in Bihar, Punjab and Maharashtra, which began a fortnight ago after the arrest of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) constable in Jharkhand who allegedly supplied arms and ammunition to Maoists.
During the raids, 8304 rounds of ammunition, empty shells, detonator and magazines were recovered from the THQ Campus of the 116 Battalion of the BSF in Ferozpur (Punjab), while 909 rounds were recovered from a gang member in Bihar and 14 semi-automatic pistols and magazines seized in Maharashtra. The monetary value of the total haul would run into several crores of rupees as each ammunition sell for around ₹700 in the illegal market, sources said.
Earlier this month, Jharkhand ATS had arrested a CRPF jawan and three others in Bihar and Jharkhand and recovered 450 rounds of ammunition of 5.6 mm used in Insas rifles.
So far, nine people have been arrested in the crackdown, including BSF constable Kartik Behra, who hails from Sraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand and is currently posted as Kot (armoury) in-charge at the paramilitary’s station at Ferozpur, CRPF jawan Avinash Kumar from Gaya in Bihar and retired BSF constable Arun Singh from Patna, police said.
AV Homkar, Inspector General (Operations), said, “We have several leads after these arrests. We are working on them and have shared inputs with other agencies as well. Jharkhand ATS has been able to crack down on this syndicate with pan-India network with help from police of other states and BSF officials.”
Officials said the ammunition recovered from the BSF jawans in Ferozpur and Patna were pilfered from the force’s armoury.
Sharing details, ATS superintendent of police, Prashant Anand, said the arrests were made following interrogation of the arrested CRPF jawan and the leads gathered thereafter.
“Retired BSF constable Arun Singh was arrested from Patna on November 16-17 and ammunition recovered with help of the Bihar Police. Following further leads, Kartik Behra was arrested from Ferozpur and searches at the THQ Campus with help of BSF officers led to the recovery of a huge cache of ammunitions. In a separate raid in Buldhana district in Maharashtra, three persons were arrested and semi-automatic pistols and magazines recovered from them. These pistols were manufactured at illegal gun manufacturing units said to be operational on Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border,” said Anand.
