Chandigarh, Nov 3 An alleged inter-state ammunition racket spanning Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar has come under the scanner after the Haryana Police STF seized 25,000 live cartridges from two vehicles in Jhajjar and arrested five persons.
According to officials, preliminary investigations point to a Badaun gun house owner as a key link in the network.
The massive recovery was made by the Rohtak team of the Special Task Force (STF) from vehicles parked outside Triveni Dhaba at Rohad in Jhajjar district on Tuesday morning, following crucial inputs from the Bihar STF. Eight mobile phones were also seized, a Haryana Police statement said.
The STF team searched a Tata Harrier and a Hyundai Aura parked along the roadside. While 24,400 live cartridges of KF 7.65 and BMM KF bore were recovered from the Tata Harrier, occupied by three persons, another 600 cartridges bearing the marking BMM KF were seized from the Hyundai Aura, in which two persons were travelling.
The five arrested accused have been identified as Afifuddin alias Munna Khan (49), Aasim Rais (33), Sablou Khan (32), Arbaz Ali (27) and Zeenat (33), all residents of Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun.
The accused failed to produce any valid licence or documents for the cartridges, police said. Both vehicles, the ammunition and eight mobile phones have been taken into possession.
An FIR has been registered at Assaudha police station in Jhajjar district under various provisions of the Arms Act.
The seizure followed a similar operation by the Bihar Police STF in Bhojpur district a day earlier, where a person named Laltu and his associates were arrested with approximately 20,000 cartridges.
During interrogation, Laltu was found to be in close contact with Afifuddin alias Munna Khan and had allegedly procured cartridges from him. Acting on the information shared by the Bihar STF, the Haryana STF launched the operation in Rohad and recovered the consignment.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that Afifuddin alias Munna Khan operates Badaun Gun House in the Civil Lines police station area of Badaun. Investigators have also found that Munna Khan had visited Sirsa, where he allegedly procured the large consignment of cartridges from a local resident, said to be the owner of a gun house there.
The Haryana STF, in coordination with the Bihar STF and Uttar Pradesh Police, is probing the source of the ammunition, its supply chain and distribution network.
The role of other individuals associated with the racket and the wider inter-state mechanism allegedly involved in the illegal supply of ammunition is also being examined, police said.
(PTI News)
