The five Jammu and Kashmir natives who were arrested by the City police on Wednesday with guns that lacked valid licences have purportedly confessed to have procured the documents through illegal means.
The gang allegedly bought the guns and the licences through a Maharashtra-based agency in order to apply for employment as security guards for a cash management firm that handles ATM replenishment and maintains cash in transit fleets.
The youths were arrested by the Karamana police from a house at Neeramankara with alleged possession of two double-barrel and three single-barrel guns. They were taken into custody after the licences were found to be invalid. While they had submitted documents purported to be licences issued by the Rajouri district administration, the City police arrested them after alerted by authorities there of the possibility of the documents being forged.
Following their arrest, the accused claimed to have purchased the licences for ₹6,000 each and guns for prices ranging from ₹30,000 to ₹40,000. Despite obtaining the licences through illegal means, the youths maintained that they were under the impression that the documents were genuine and that they were duped by the agency. The investigation team was, however, yet to ascertain their claims.
Screening
The police viewed the development as a lapse on the part of the cash logistics firm, which usually conducted thorough background checks prior to appointing security guards. Steps had been initiated to screen people roped in for such activities in the city for criminal antecedents, official sources said.
The Karamana police led by Station House Officer Aneesh V. collected evidence from the house where the youths stayed. While various Central intelligence agencies are learnt to have questioned the youths, the police remained tight-lipped about such details.
The five persons were remanded in judicial custody after being produced at the court on Thursday. The City police intended to seek their custody for further investigation that could extend as far as Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir.
