With the arrest of five alleged smugglers, Delhi Police has busted two gun-running rackets with links to Madhya Pradesh and recovered 43 sophisticated pistols in the last one week.
A new alarming trend has come to light for security agencies as after Munger in Bihar, a new centre for fabrication and supply of high-quality illicit firearms has developed in the thickly forested districts of Khargone, Barwani and Khandwa along Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border.
According to police, Khilafat Ali, a resident of Meerut, UP and Dinesh Gawane, a resident of Badwani district of MP, were arrested on the evening of August 12 from near Anand Vihar inter-state bus station and 10 semi automatic sophisticated pistols of 7.65 mm bore along with 10 magazines were recovered from their possession. Later, Khilafat Ali led the police to a tube well in his agricultural field from where one more firearm was recovered.
"In this case, Dinesh was the supplier of firearms on behalf of a man, who has his manufacturing base in Sendhwa of Madhya Pradesh. Dinesh had come to Delhi to supply the firearms to Khilafat Ali when both of them were apprehended," Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) SN Shrivastava.
In the next operation, Devender and Dharmender, both residents of Aligarh district of UP, were arrested on August 18 from near Dhaula Kuan and a total of 20 firearms were recovered from their possession.
The duo had come to Delhi after collecting the consignment from a supplier, who has his base in Khargone of Madhya Pradesh. They had collected the consignment on behalf of a major supplier based in Aligarh, UP who had, after the consignment had been collected, re-routed them to Delhi for supply of the same to its intended recipient, who is yet to be identified, said Shrivastava.
During interrogation, the duo revealed that one Arun, who is also a co-peddler, was dispatched to Khargone to collect another consignment from the same supplier and that Arun was also likely to arrive in Delhi.
"Accordingly, a trap was laid near the Sarai Kale Khan ISBT during the next day and accused Arun was nabbed. A total of 12 firearms were recovered from his possession taking the total haul in this case to 32 pistols," said Shrivastava.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, two teams have been relentlessly pursuing the manufacturers and peddlers of firearms made in Munger, Bihar for over an year.
However, they now believe that that the relentless pressure of Delhi Police has forced the Munger-based fabricators to look away from Delhi and hunt for markets elsewhere. This has caused the emergence of a new hub of illegal fire arms in Madhya Pradesh.
"The more worrying aspect in this case is that that the cartridges of prohibited bores like .9 mm and 7.65 mm are still available in the grey markets in plenty as these weapons would be practically of no value if the cartridges to be used in them are unavailable," said Yadav.
According to data available with the Delhi Police, since January 1, 2014, a total of 31 firearms (including one improvised AK-47 assault rifle) sourced from Munger and 117 firearms sourced from Khargone/Khandwa areas have been seized in 9 cases registered in Police Station Special Cell.
A total of 18 accused have been arrested in these cases. There are specific inputs that in view of the sustained crackdown of Delhi Police on the Munger based manufacturers, suppliers and peddlers, even the traditional receivers of the Munger-made firearms, largely from the Western Uttar Pradesh districts, now prefer sourcing of these firearms from the emerging market of Madhya Pradesh.
"The recovery of 43 sophisticated pistols, within a week's duration, which had found their way into Delhi from their manufacturing bases along the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border, is a serious indicator that the charm for these illicit firearms is still strong amongst the criminal elements of Delhi NCR and sustained, coordinated efforts of all concerned agencies are required to curb this menace," said Shrivastava.
Authorities in the concerned states are being intimated about the case and further investigation is in progress, police said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}