Delhi Police busts MP-based arms racket, 2 held with 15 pistols

New Delhi, Sep 6 (PTI) Two men, who procured illegal weapons from a Madhya Pradesh-based supplier and sold those to contacts in Delhi-NCR for the last four to five years for profit, have been arrested from north Delhi's Burari, police said on Saturday.

Accused Murtaza Khatri (31) and Wasim Qureshi (25), both residents of Barwani in Madhya Pradesh, purchased each firearm for about Rs 15,000 in Madhya Pradesh and sold it for nearly Rs 25,000 in Delhi, a senior police officer said.

"Acting on specific information, police intercepted the duo near Burari in north Delhi on September 5. They had come to deliver a consignment of firearms to a local contact. Eight pistols were found from Khatri's bag and seven from Qureshi's," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Krishan Kumar said.

The accused told investigators that they were asked to deliver the consignment to a man identified as Roshan in Delhi. Both were working on the directions of the arms supplier in Madhya Pradesh, police said.

According to officials, Khatri dropped out of school after Class 3 and got involved in arms trafficking about five years ago. He has a history of eight criminal cases, including for theft, burglary and offences under the Public Gambling Act, registered at police stations in Barwani and Dhar districts.

Qureshi, who failed in Class 8, ran a mutton shop with his family before he was lured into the illegal firearms trade. He has six cases against him, including those of rioting, gambling and theft, police said.

Further investigation is underway to identify the Madhya Pradesh-based supplier and the Delhi contacts of the syndicate, they added. PTI SSJ RC