Delhi Police bust illegal arms factory in UP; seize weapons, raw material

New Delhi, Sep 2 (PTI) The Delhi Police busted an illegal arms manufacturing unit in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh, recovering a large cache of country-made weapons, raw material for over 250 firearms, and machinery used in their production, an official said on Tuesday.

Three men, including the alleged kingpin who had been running such factories for nearly two decades, have been arrested in connection with the case, he mentioned further.

The investigation began after a firing incident was reported on the intervening night of August 11 and 12 in north Delhi's Sarai Rohilla area. "A juvenile shot at a man named Shubham alias Lala during a quarrel over the purchase of an idol of Lord Ganesha," the police officer stated.

A neighbour snatched the pistol used in the attack, while the juvenile managed to escape. He was apprehended the next day and a country-made pistol along with a live cartridge was recovered from him.

"During questioning, the juvenile disclosed that he had procured the weapon two months ago from one Bunty, a resident of Aligarh. Acting on this lead, a team was formed to trace the supply chain behind the illegal arms racket," he added.

A team was formed to nab the accused, and the team first tracked down and arrested an individual named Bunty from Ganga Garhi village in Aligarh on August 27. Five empty and one live cartridge were recovered from him.

Upon interrogation, Bunty allegedly revealed that he sourced the firearms from Bijender Singh (61), a resident of Mathura. Police teams then moved to Mathura, where Singh was apprehended on August 30. A video of over 70 illegal firearms was found on his mobile phone, the officer stated.

Singh subsequently disclosed that a man named Hanvir was operating a full-fledged arms factory in Aligarh. Acting on technical inputs, the police raided a location on Jattari Pishawa Road in Aligarh on September 1, where two locked rooms were found in a field.

"On breaking the locks, the team discovered a large-scale arms manufacturing unit. Six country-made pistols, 12 unfinished pistols, six live cartridges, raw material for over 250 firearms, barrels, barrel pipes and heavy machinery, including drill and blow machines, grinders and cutters were recovered," said the officer.

The factory owner, identified as Hanvir alias Hannu (60), a resident of Jalalpur village in Aligarh, was arrested on the spot.

During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to being involved in illegal arms manufacturing for the last 15-20 years and admitted to having sold over 1,200 weapons to various buyers. He frequently relocated the factory to avoid detection.

The accused trio comes from modest backgrounds -- Bunty worked at a petrol pump in Hathras while his father drives an e-rickshaw, Singh is a farmer, and Hanvir had been clandestinely running arms units across Uttar Pradesh for years.

The police seized six finished country-made pistols, 12 incomplete pistols, six live and five empty cartridges, 13 barrels, 44 small barrels, 12 small barrel pipes, three large barrel pipes and equipment used in the manufacturing process.

Further investigation is underway to identify buyers and trace the wider network, the police added. PTI BM BM MPL MPL