UP: Interstate illegal arms supply racket busted in Muzaffarnagar, Pratapgarh; 4 held

Muzaffarnagar/Pratapgarh (UP), Oct 14 (PTI) Police in separate operations in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar and Pratapgarh districts on Tuesday busted illegal arms networks and recovered a large quantity of firearms and ammunition. Four men have been arrested in the raids, officials said.

In Muzaffarnagar, police unearthed an interstate gang involved in illegal arms supply and seized five pistols, 10 country-made pistols, one musket (gun), and 32 cartridges from their possession in the Shahpur police station area, Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar said.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team arrested three men -- Tassaur, Arman, and Ikrar -- who were allegedly active in supplying illegal arms across western Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Delhi, he said.

Three other members of the gang are absconding, and efforts are on to nab them.

In a separate incident in Pratapgarh, police arrested an alleged arms smuggler during checking near the under-construction toll plaza at Dharouli Madhupur on the Prayagraj-Ayodhya highway under Kohandaur police station area.

Additional Superintendent of Police (East) Shailendra Lal told reporters that the accused, identified as Ravindra Kumar Mishra alias Happy, was found in possession of one .32 bore pistol with magazine, one .32 bore revolver, one country-made firearm, and several live cartridges of different bores.

He has been booked under relevant sections of the Arms Act and sent to jail, police said.

Senior officials said both operations are part of a statewide crackdown on the illegal arms trade in Uttar Pradesh. PTI COR ABN ABN SKY SKY