As many as 14 rowdy-sheeters from the West and South East divisions have been booked under the Arms Act and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act after the police recovered lethal weapons such as swords, machetes, and daggers from their houses.
The weapons and drugs were discovered during simultaneous raids conducted by the police on the residences of over 200 rowdies and habitual offenders that began on Saturday.
This is part of the city police’s crackdown on gangs in the wake of several brazen daylight murders. While FIRs were registered against seven rowdies under NDPS and Arms Act, the medical reports of around 33 others are awaited. According to senior police officials, many habitual offenders were under the influence of drugs at the time of the raids. “Action will be taken based on the medical reports,” said Sanjeev Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West).
The police suspect that the accused booked under the NDPS Act are linked to various drug rackets and investigations are on to ascertain their involvement.
“Many were not present in the house during the surprise checks and efforts are on to track them down. The remaining rowdies have been questioned about their present activities. We have also got an undertaking from them that they will not be involved in anti-social activities,” said a senior police official.
In July, the Central Crime Branch police had conducted simultaneous raids and search operations in various parts of the city. Raids were conducted in over 2,000 houses and more than a 1,000 people were detained.