New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) A proclaimed offender who was allegedly involved in an illegal arms trafficking case and had been evading arrest, was nabbed from Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district, police said on Thursday.

As part of its ongoing drive against proclaimed offenders and habitual criminals, the Special Staff team of the national Capital’s Shahdara district was actively gathering Intelligence regarding absconding accused persons wanted in various criminal cases.

On June 16, credible secret information was received that the proclaimed offender, identified as 35-year-old Punit alias Punjabi, was present in Khurja, in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh.

Verification of records revealed that the accused had been declared a proclaimed offender by the Patiala House Court in New Delhi, in connection with a 2013 case.

Upon receiving the information about the accused, a dedicated police team was constituted comprising SI Rajkumar, HC Nitin, Ct. Rudrapratap and Ct. Shekhar. The team functioned under the leadership of Inspector Ashish Kumar, I/C Special Staff, Shahdara District, under the close supervision of ACP/Operations, Shahdara District and overall supervision of DCP Shahdara.

The team immediately proceeded to Khurja in Bulandshahr and conducted sustained surveillance and field verification. Through meticulous efforts and strategic deployment, the team successfully located and apprehended the proclaimed offender.

According to investigators, the accused was taken into custody and legal proceedings under Section 35(1)(D) BNSS were initiated. He is being produced before the court for further legal action.

Officials revealed that the accused Punit alias Punjabi is a notorious and habitual culprit with a long criminal history. In 2013, he was arrested by the Special Cell, Delhi, in a major arms trafficking case wherein 10 illegal pistols along with 10 spare magazines were recovered from his possession.

Investigation at that time revealed his involvement in trafficking illegal firearms from Munger in Bihar to Delhi. The accused had subsequently absconded from legal proceedings and was declared a proclaimed person by the court.

The arrested accused was previously involved in eight criminal cases, including offences under the Arms Act, Attempt to Murder, House Trespass, Criminal Intimidation, Assault, and Dowry Prohibition Act.

—IANS

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