New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS) Delhi Police have busted an illegal arms manufacturing unit with ties to notorious gangs in Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh as well as Sonepat, Rohtak and Jhajjar in Haryana, an official said on Tuesday.
The official said the police have also seized one carbine machine gun, 15 semi-automatic pistols, 18 single-shot pistols and 229 bullets and raw materials for manufacturing around 200 to 250 firearms.
According to the police, on October 4, after receiving specific inputs, one person named Bintu a.k.a. Mintu a.k.a. Bittu was arrested.
"One semi-automatic pistol along with six live cartridges were recovered from his possession. On searching of his bag, nine more semi-automatic pistols, 18 single-shot pistols and 148 live cartridges of different types of bores were recovered,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), Sagar Singh Kalsi.
During interrogation, Bintu disclosed that he had received the firearms and ammunition from a person named Lalit, who is a resident of Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh.
However, Bintu also disclosed that he had never seen the house of Lalit, but provided his mobile number.
“On the basis of technical surveillance, the number was found active in Baghpat after which the police conducted a raid at Gauna village near Baghpat,” said the DCP.
Lalit was apprehended on October 8 and one carbine, five pistols and 75 live cartridges were recovered from his possession.
The same day, a raid was conducted at the illegal firearms factory of Lalit in the Loni area.
“Some manufacturing machines, tools, iron rods, wooden pieces, and iron sheets used to manufacture illegal firearms along with raw materials for manufacturing approx 200 to 250 illegal firearms were recovered from the site,” Kalsi said.
On interrogation, Lalit disclosed that he manufactured firearms with the help of MS iron rods of 15 mm and 4 mm iron plates which are easily available in the market.
Lalit also revealed that in 2013, he was unemployed and his family's financial situation was bad. He then ventured into welding work, but his earnings left him dissatisfied.
“During this time, he crossed paths with Johny Pradhan, a resident of a nearby village, who introduced him to Deepak Yadav, a politician and illegal firearms supplier,” the officer said.
Lured by the prospect of working in Deepak Yadav's illegal firearms factory, which promised better earnings and the chance to learn weapon manufacturing, Lalit joined in.
"In 2015, Uttar Pradesh Police raided Deepak Yadav's factory, seizing a cache of illegal firearms, though Lalit managed to escape,” the DCP said.
Later, Lalit met Johny Pradhan again, who suggested they start their own illegal firearms manufacturing business.
“They set up their factory, offering semi-automatic pistols for Rs 20,000-25,000 each and single-shot pistols for Rs 5,000-7,000 apiece,” the DCP said.
They supplied the firearms to notorious gangs in Western UP, Sonepat, Rohtak and Jhajjar, including to the Anil Dujana gang, Udham Singh gang, Rahul Khatta gang, and Sachin a.k.a. Baba gang, known for their involvement in murder, robbery, dacoity, and extortion.
In 2019, the Uttar Pradesh STF uncovered their factory, leading to Lalit and Johny Pradhan's arrest and the recovery of more weapons.
“After securing bail, Lalit reunited with friends Surender, Sumit and Bittu to secretly restart illegal firearms manufacturing,” the DCP said.
They launched a new illegal firearms manufacturing operation, supplying various gang members in UP, including Anil Dujana's gang in Western UP and Pradeep alias Chhota's gang in Haryana.
“They sold semi-automatic pistols for Rs 30,000-40,000 and single-shot pistols for Rs 8,000-10,000 each,” Kalsi said.
During interrogation, Lalit admitted to receiving approximately 500 live cartridges from Deepak Yadav in 2020, which he supplied to various gangsters after retaining 229 of them.
“Efforts are on to determine the involvement of other individuals in the illegal firearms supply and manufacturing racket,” the DCP added.
