Odisha Police busts inter-state firearms racket; three held

Rourkela (Odisha), Dec 30 (PTI) Police have busted an inter-state firearm and arms license racket and arrested three persons involved in the illegal trade.

"In its continued drive against possession of illegal arms, Rourkela police has busted an inter-state racket involved in procuring illegal arms licenses from Nagaland through forged documents," DIG (western range) Brijesh Roy said.

Following credible intelligence inputs, raids were conducted across the city, leading to the arrest of three persons, including kingpin Ratan Kumar Shaw (58), he said.

Investigation revealed that the racket was operating across Rourkela, Kolkata and Nagaland. Culprits allured individuals by promising arms licenses along with firearms for a sum of Rs 5 to Rs 10 lakh, Roy said.

Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani said forged documents were used to obtain arms licences, which were later distributed among several persons in Rourkela.

"One pistol, two revolvers, 35 rounds of live ammunition, forged arms licences allegedly issued from Nagaland and the ADM’s office in Rourkela, and a mobile phone containing incriminating digital evidence were seized from their possession," he said.

Further investigation is underway to identify additional links in the racket, the SP added. PTI COR BBM BBM MNB