Punjab man lands in Delhi Police net with 2K cartridges

NEWDELHI: A 62-year-old man from Punjab’s Fazilka, who earlier ran a gun house in his hometown but shut the business because of losses, was caught in Delhi with 2,000 cartridges, which he had to deliver to criminals in Delhi-ncr and adjoining states, the police said on Saturday.

Additional commissioner of police (crime) Rajiv Ranjan said Amar Lal was previously arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in two cases of cheating people by issuing them fake firearms licences, registered in Mohali, Punjab, in 2002.

Lal was also arrested by Punjab police in two cases of illegal firearms trafficking in 2011 and 2014.

The Delhi Police was looking for Lal since June 2018, when two gunrunners, who were arrested by a crime branch team with 28 sophisticated pistols, said they used to procure ammunition from him, the additional CP said.

Police said Lal used to procure cartridges from a known gun house owner in Punjab’s Shahbad near Ambala and sold them to criminals on almost an 80 to 100% profit margin.

“Lal used to pay between R125 to R150 per cartridge to the gun house owner.

He sold the bullets to criminals between R200 and R250 each. Lal has been involved in this illegal sale and supply of ammunition since 2002,” said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Ram Gopal Naik, adding they are now looking for the gun house owner.

DCP Naik said Lal was arrested on Friday with the illegally procured cartridges while he was waiting for the receiver of the bullets in his car on Sonia Vihar Pushta road in northeast Delhi.

“Lal drove to Delhi with the consignment of the ammunition from Punjab. We had received a tip-off about the consignment and the place where Lal had to deliver it to the receiver. Our team laid a trap and caught Lal with 2,000 cartridges, which he had hidden in his car,” said Naik.

The crime branch team is camping in Punjab to arrest the gun house owner, who illegally sold the ammunition to Lal.