Punjab: Juvenile among six held over links to cross-border arms trafficking module

Chandigarh, Mar 6 (PTI) Police have busted an alleged cross-border arms smuggling module in Amritsar district and apprehended six persons including a juvenile, recovering five pistols and a sharp-edged weapon from their possession, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Friday.

He said preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were in contact with Pakistan-based arms smugglers through social media and were receiving cross-border weapon consignments via drones before distributing these illegal firearms across the state on the directions of the handlers.

The accused have been identified as Rohit Kumar (18), a resident of Maqboolpura in Amritsar; Karanbir Singh alias Ajay (24), resident of Kale village in Tarn Taran; Jashandeep Singh alias Giani (18), Onkar Singh alias Vansh (21) and Akashdeep Singh (24), all residents of Marri Megha village in Tarn Taran, and a 16-year-old juvenile.

Police recovered five pistols -- one .30 bore pistol, one 9 mm Glock, one .30 bore PX5, one 9 mm Taurus and one 9 mm Gretta (made in Pakistan) -- along with 34 live cartridges.

Sharing operational details, Amritsar Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said police teams initially apprehended Rohit Kumar and the juvenile during patrolling and recovered one .30 bore pistol and a sharp-edged weapon.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that the weapon had been supplied by Karanbir Singh alias Ajay, and he was subsequently arrested, Bhullar said.

Further interrogation led to the arrest of three more accused -- Onkar Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Jashandeep Singh -- and led to the recovery of four more pistols, he added.

A case has been registered under sections 25(6), 25(7) and 25(8) of the Arms Act at Maqboolpura police station in Amritsar and further investigation is underway, police said. PTI VSD APL ARB ARB