With the arrest of three men and recovery of 20 sophisticated pistols from them, Delhi Police today claimed to have busted a gang of illegal arms dealers who were involved in supplying of Munger-made weapons in to the national capital.
A team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Manishi Chandra, which has been working relentlessly on the illegal arms peddlers, had got a tip off about this gang two days ago following which a trap was laid near DDA function Park at road No 57-A near Max hospital, IP Extn Patparganj and the trio was nabbed at 4.45 PM.
"The police team recovered a total of 20 sophisticated firearms of 7.65 caliber pistols procured from Munger, Bihar with extra magazines. The accused have been identified as Gaurav Raj (24), Aditya Singh (24), both residents of Munger, Bihar and Jane Alam (32) a resident of Meerut UP," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Rajiv Ranjan.
One of their associate managed to escape from the spot, as he was at some distance when the raid was conducted. Efforts are on to trace and apprehend him, police said.
The presence of high quality 7.65 calibre pistols in grey market points to thriving and profitable market for illegal arms in Delhi NCR area.
"This catch underlines a worrisome scenario that cartridges of prohibited bores like .9 mm/7.65 mm are still available in the grey markets in plenty as these weapons would be practically of no value if the cartridges are unavailable," he said.
The interrogation of the trio has further disclosed that Gaurav Raj and Aditya Singh were supplying illegal pistols to criminal elements in Meerut, UP. They reached Delhi by Brahmputra Express and were to hand over the consignment in Delhi. They were provided a handsome amount for each delivery and expenses on the way.
The Special Cell has been relentlessly pursuing the manufacturers and peddlers of firearms illegally made in Munger, Bihar for over two years now.
Since first January this year, a total of 186 firearms (including one improvised AK-47 assault rifle) sourced from Munger and Khargone-Khandwa areas in MP have been seized in 12 cases registered by Special Cell. A total of 27 accused persons have been arrested in these cases so far.
The interrogation has revealed that the crackdown by Delhi Police on the Munger-based
manufacturers/suppliers/peddlers of the illegal arms has forced these illegal weapon fabricators to make several adjustments to avoid detection, police said.
