New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) In a major crackdown on the illegal arms trade, the Delhi Police’s Sarai Rohilla station team has busted a large-scale illegal firearm manufacturing unit operating from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.

Acting on intelligence gathered during a shooting case investigation, the Sarai Rohilla police team conducted multiple raids and arrested three individuals, including the mastermind behind the factory.

North District DCP Raja Banthia revealed that the investigation began following an FIR registered on the night of August 11-12.

A woman had filed a complaint stating that her brother, Shubham alias Lala, was shot at by a minor. After the minor was apprehended, he confessed during interrogation that he had purchased the pistol used in the crime from Vijay alias Bunty, a resident of Aligarh.

A special team led by SHO Vikas Rana and supervised by ACP Anil Sharma conducted coordinated raids across Aligarh and Mathura. On August 27, the team arrested Bunty from Ganga Garhi, Aligarh, and recovered one live cartridge and five empty shells. Further interrogation led to the arrest of Bijender Singh alias Madhura, 61, from Mathura on August 30.

A video showing the production of over 70 illegal firearms was recovered from his phone.

The final breakthrough came on September 1, when police raided a makeshift factory on Jattari Pishawa Road in Aligarh.

Inside two locked rooms, they found six finished pistols, 12 incomplete pistols, six live cartridges, raw material for over 250 more weapons, and equipment, including drills, blow machines, and barrel pipes.

The alleged mastermind, Hanveer alias Hannu alias Pappu, 60, confessed to making and selling over 1,200 illegal firearms over the past two decades, frequently changing locations to evade arrest.

The police seized a significant cache of weapons and related materials from the Aligarh unit.

The police are also investigating the criminal background of the accused and suspect a wider supply network. Authorities believe the weapons may have been distributed across multiple states.

Further investigations are ongoing to trace buyers and associates involved in the illegal arms trade.

This bust highlights the persistent challenge of illicit arms trafficking in northern India and the critical need for inter-state coordination in cracking down on such networks.

–IANS

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