Illegal arms dealer arrested, 22 cartridges seized

NEWDELHI: The Delhi Police’s special cell on Wednesday claimed to have arrested a 45-year-old unauthorised firearms dealer -who allegedly supplied illegally procured cartridges to Maoist outfits operating in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli -- from Bihar’s Bhojpur.

A total of 22 cartridges of dif- ferent calibre, including those used in INSAS and Self Loading Rifles (SLR) of paramilitary and armed forces of the country, were recovered from his possession.

The police said the arrested man, Sanjay Singh, had procured the seized cartridges from his contacts in the security forces for onward sale to criminals and Maoists on a hefty commission. Police had announced ₹1 lakh reward on clues leading to his arrest.

DCP (special cell) Pramod Singh Kushwaha said Singh was arrested from his hometown on Saturday after the police received a tip-off about his return.

A raid was conducted and Singh was caught, the DCP said, adding that the police recovered the 22 cartridges after his questioning.

“Sanjay Singh’s name had cropped up when the police were questioning Ram Krishna Singh, who hails from from Bihar’s Arah and was arrested with 407 cartridges on July 12 this year. During questioning, Ram Krishna Singh disclosed he was part of the illegal trade of supplying arms to criminals and Maoists since 2015 and that Sanjay Singh had introduced him to the business,” Kushwaha said.