Cache of arms, ammunition recovered from Bhakra Canal

Police recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from Bhakra Canal near Rupnagar on Thursday.

Rupnagar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Raj Bachan Singh Sandhu said police had arrested two people, Sukhbir Singh and Prem Masih of Kotla Nihang village, in a theft case. During their interrogation, the accused revealed they had thrown stolen motorcycles into Bhakra Canal.

During a search operation near the Rangilpur bridge, the divers recovered a plastic bag containing a .30-bore imported submachine gun, a .38-bore pistol and .12 bore pistol (country-made), two magazines of the imported submachine gun, 207 live and 19 spent cartridges, the SSP said.

He said a case has been registered under Section 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act at the Singh Bhagwantpur police station and efforts were on to arrest the accused.

The SSP said gangsters might have thrown the arms and ammunition into the canal following the Punjab Police crackdown against them.