Three illegal arms suppliers arrested, 21 pistols seized

Police say accused are part of an inter-State gang

Weapons seized by the police

Three illegal arms suppliers of an inter-State gang have been arrested and 21 sophisticated pistols were seized from them, the Delhi Police said on Monday.

Kamlesh alias Kamal, from Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradesh; Alok Jaiswal of Gonda district in UP; and Rakesh Kumar from Jhalawar in Rajasthan, were arrested near the Barapullah flyover when they were travelling in their car.

The police said that the trio were on their way to supply a consignment of weapons to an arms dealer in the city.

“We got a tip regarding movement of illegal arms suppliers in the city. A trap was laid near Sarai Kale Khan bus stand. At 2.45 p.m., a car coming from NH-24 towards Barapullah was signalled to stop. The driver stopped the vehicle but a passenger with a black-colour bag jumped out of the car and tried to run away. He was chased and caught. The driver of the car was found in possession of a loaded pistol with four live cartridges,” said a senior police official.

Crack down on suppliers

“A total of 21 high-quality pistols along with eight live cartridges of .32 bore have been recovered,” said P. S. Kushwah, DCP (Special Cell).

The Special Cell of the Delhi Police has been cracking down on illegal arms suppliers since 2012. The weapons are usually used by criminals to commit crimes across the city. A dedicated team has been assigned to keep a tab on such arms suppliers, who get the weapons from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and UP. They then supply the weapons to criminals in Delhi-NCR, said Mr. Kushwah.

“During interrogation, the accused said they have been supplying illegal arms for the past five years. They have supplied around 600 pistols in Delhi. They have been arrested in several Arms Act cases. The arms were illegally manufactured in Barwani district of M.P. and were smuggled into the city via UP or Rajasthan,” he added.