Illegal arms racket busted in Delhi, 40 pistols recovered

As many as 40 semiautomatic pistols made in illegal arms factories of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh were seized by the Delhi Police on Sunday. This is the third such incident this month, since the seizure of 30 sophisticated pistols and carbines on April 22 and 20 guns on April 21.

The recovery was made from the possession of Deepak Kumar Saha, 34, a native of Munger in Bihar and his associate, Sajid of Meerut, UP. Police said Saha is the leader of an interstate arms racket which supplies guns made in illegal factories to criminals in Delhi-NCR, western UP towns and other parts of the country. Senior crime branch officials said the guns are popular among criminals because their manufacturing standards are high and they are cheaper than legal guns of the same make and caliber.

The cost of one such gun could be ₹50,000 to ₹70,000, said a police officer. “Saha is running the racket for the past 10 years and has supplied more than 400 sophisticated illegal weapons to hundreds of criminals in Delhi and other states,” said Madhur Verma, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch).

Verma said the members of the gang bring the weapons to Delhi-NCR and UP by train. “Most of their members travel First Class to escape police scrutiny,” said Verma.

Investigations into a series of incidents in Delhi-NCR led the police to probe the source of the guns being used by the criminals.