The three arms smugglers arrested by Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan police on December 21 from Chittorgarh have revealed that the weapons recovered from them were to be supplied to a home tutor Zahid Maulana in Pratapgarh, said Karan Sharma, additional superintendent of police, SOG.
Nineteen pistols and a revolver were brought from Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh and the deal was to take place in Chittorgarh’s Nimbahera area when a team of SOG foiled it and arrested the smugglers – Irfan Khan, Saddam Hussain, and Firoz Khan, all residents of Chittorgarh, and seized the illegal weapons.
“The accused told us that one middle-aged Zahid Maulana had told them to get the weapons and that he would ensure all the weapons were sold,” said Sharma. “He was living in a rented house with his family in Pratapgarh for several years and used to teach children Urdu and related subjects at his house.”
When the police raided his house, they found it locked. Upon getting it opened by the landlord, the police found the house to be empty. “He must have got the news of the arrest in Nimbahera and fled,” the additional SP added. He added that locals said that Zahid would also indulge in small-time drug peddling.