3 gunrunners held, pistols, car seized

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Tuesday said it arrested three men, who allegedly procured firearms illegally from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh and sold them to criminals in Delhi, especially in the south-western districts of Najafgarh and Uttam Nagar. Three pistols, five cartridges and a Verna car were seized from them. Police said one of the men was preparing to appear for the civil service examination.

Deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse said two of the three men— Aman Bhardwaj, 25, and Vishal Gehlot, 28 — were caught by a team of the anti-auto theft squad from Dwarka Sector 11 on the evening of November 29.

“Our team received information that two arms suppliers would be coming near a public park in a Verna. The team members laid a trap and surrounded the car. Bhardwaj, who was sitting in the front passenger’s seat, tired to fire at the police party. Our two policemen overpowered him and snatched his pistol,” Alphonse said.

The team searched the car and found another pistol, which was hidden under the driver’s seat. Their interrogation later led to the arrest of Ankur Choudhary, 22, from a rented room in Ghaziabad. Police said he was preparing for the UPSC exam.

The DCP said Bhardwaj revealed that his father owned a vehicle repair shop in Najafgarh which Gehlot used to visit to get his Verna repaired. The two became friends and often met at the residence of Choudhary, who was Gehlot’s friend.

Police said during their frequent meetings, Choudhary, who belongs to Aligarh, told his two friends that he knew illegal firearms manufacturers in his home town. He allegedly gave them a proposal to procure guns from Aligarh and sell them in Najafgarh and Uttam Nagar at a profit.

“Choudhary shifted his base to Ghaziabad, procured guns from Aligarh and supplied them to his friends. The duo used to deliver the consignments to their contacts,” a police officer said.