Two arms smugglers arrested, 20 firearms seized

Kingpin had a bounty of ₹50,000 on his head; he is wanted in three States for arms smuggling

The two accused, alleged kingpin Bachchan Singh and his accomplice Noor Mohammad, in custody at the police headquarters in New Delhi on Monday.

The Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested two alleged arms smugglers over the past three days and seized 20 firearms and other ammunition, the police said on Monday.

The accused, arms manufacturer Bachan Singh (37), was arrested following an operation in which a team of Delhi Police camped in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh for three days, they said.

‘Operations in jungles’

“A team of Crime Branch carried out an operation in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh’s Sendhwa and Balwadi to successfully nab an arms dealer and manufacturer. They arrested the kingpin — Bachan Singh alias Bacchu Singh — who had a bounty of ₹50,000 on his head,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo.

Singh is wanted in three States in connection with arms smuggling case, Mr. Deo added.

“Last year, some of Singh’s accomplices were arrested in the Capital and the supply was traced back to Madhya Pradesh. For the past eight months, the Crime Branch has been developing information about his hideout in the remote areas of Madhya Pradesh. Last week, we received a specific tip-off and sent a team to the Sendhwa,” said Mr. Deo.

Singh was interrogated and revealed the names of his accomplices and their hideouts.

At his instance, one of his receivers Noor Mohammad was arrested from Meerut, and 20 illegal firearms and 10 spare magazines were seized from him.