Delhi woman held with loaded pistol at Vaishno Devi shrine

Jyoti Gupta, who claimed to be a retired police constable, was intercepted with the weapon and six rounds at a checkpoint

A woman pilgrim from Delhi was arrested after a loaded pistol was recovered from her possession at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district, officials said on Tuesday.

A CRPF personnel stands guard outside the gate of the Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, Jammu. (PTI File Photo)

Jyoti Gupta, who claimed to be a retired police constable, was intercepted with the weapon and six rounds at a checkpoint near the 'Bhawan' (sanctum sanctorum) on the intervening night of March 14-15, they said.

The licence for the gun found in the possession of Gupta was found to have expired a couple of years ago, the officials said.

Police have launched a probe after registering an FIR, they said.

In a similar incident, Sanjay Singh, a pilgrim from Uttar Pradesh, was booked after two cartridges were found in his bag near the Bhawan on Monday, the officials said.