Chandigarh, Sep 22 The Punjab Police dismantled six illegal arms supply networks with the arrest of eight individuals and recovery of 13 illegal pistols along with 23 live cartridges, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.
Those arrested have been identified as Gurdeep Singh alias Deep (24) and Dharminder Singh alias Bhinda (34), both residents of village Rangarh in Amritsar Rural; Amit (23), a resident of Guru Ki Wadali in Amritsar; Harpreet Singh alias Happy Niana (26), a resident of Narayangarh in Amritsar and Chamkaur Singh (30), a resident of village Waan Tara Singh in Tarn Taran.
Besides, police also arrested Karanpreet Singh (22), a resident of village Noordi in Tarn Taran; Gaurav (26), a resident of Katra Karam Singh in Amritsar; and Varun Kumar alias Vicky Gill (33), a resident of Bhai Manj Singh Road in Amritsar.
The recovered pistols include two .30 bore Zigana (Made in Turkey), two .30 Bore (Made in China), one 9MM and eight .30 bore pistols.
Investigation revealed that arrested accused were allegedly linked to foreign-based smugglers and were procuring illegal weapons for further distribution and use in criminal activities.
Police have also established links between the accused and other associates involved in the illegal arms supply network, he said.
Further investigation is underway to uncover the complete backward and forward linkages in this case to identify other persons involved and dismantle the wider illegal arms trafficking network.
Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Harmanbir Singh Gill said that police teams arrested Gurdeep Singh alias Deep and Dharminder Singh alias Bhinda, recovering two pistols and seven live cartridges from his possession.
In three separate operations, he said that police teams arrested accused persons Amit, Harpreet alias Happy and Chamkaur Singh and recovered three pistols along with live cartridges from each of their possessions.
In another operation, the CP said that the police team during a routine checking, apprehended Karanpreet Singh and recovered one pistol along with six live cartridges from his possession.
The police team also arrested Varun Kumar alias Vicky Gill and Gaurav and recovered one pistol along with four live cartridges from their possession, he said.
(PTI News)
