Use of foreign-made firearms alerts Prayagraj cops
PRAYAGRAJ: The use and recovery of foreign-made pistols such as Zigana, Girsan, Walther, Bulldog, and Colt in various crimes have put police officials on high alert in Prayagraj. These weapons of foreign make were used by assailants of mafia-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed. Moreover, sophisticated firearms were also recovered by Prayagraj STF from Atiq’s son Asad and his aide Ghulam. Moreover, a Baretta pistol was recovered from Atiq’s office at Chakia. The police are also investigating how so many sophisticated firearms have made their way to the Prayagraj region.
It is worth mentioning that this is the first time in Prayagraj that a large number of sophisticated firearms are being used by criminals for committing murders. Earlier, police recovered single-shot pistols (desi katta) or made in Munger semi-automatic pistols from criminals and hostel inmates.
On March 21, the police arrested five of Atiq’s aides and on their confession recovered cash worth Rs 74 lakh and 11 firearms from Atiq’s partially demolished office at Chakia. The firearms included a sophisticated Colt pistol and some 9 mm cartridges.
On April 13, the STF team gunned down Atiq’s son Asad and his aide Ghulam in an encounter in Jhansi. STF team recovered a German-made Walther pistol from Asad and a British Bull Dog pistol from Ghulam. Both Asad and Ghulam were wanted in connection with the murder of lawyer Umesh Pal.
On April 15, Dhumanganj police recovered two automatic pistols including one Colt pistol along with 58 cartridges including 8 Pakistan-made ammunition. The recovery was made from an old building in the Kasari Masari area on the confession of Atiq and Ashraf around three hours before they were shot dead at Colvin Hospital the same night.
Moreover, two of the three assailants involved in the murder of Atiq and Ashraf used sophisticated Turkiye-made Zigana and Girsan pistols. While Lavlesh Tiwari who fired the first shot on Atiq was using Zigana, the other assailant Sunny Singh was found using a Girsan pistol. The third assailant Arun Maurya was found in possession of a Munger-made pistol. Police officials said that questioning from assailants revealed that they got sophisticated firearms from the Delhi-based Jitendra Gogi gang.
The officials said that investigations have revealed that Asad had ordered ten sophisticated firearms from arms dealers through Atiq’s henchman Guddu Muslim.
Delhi police special cell arrested arms supplier Awtar Singh in the first week of April. Singh informed police that he sold firearms to Khalid and Zeeshan. After the arrest of Khalid and Zeeshan, the police learnt that they not only supplied firearms to Asad but one of their aides Javed helped Asad and Ghulam in providing safe shelter and forged Aadhar cards.
Dhumanganj police in its application for custody remand of Atiq and Ashraf had mentioned that the duo confessed to having relations with firearms smugglers.
The firearms were brought from Pakistan through drones and dropped at a safe place on the Punjab border.
Senior police officials said that the use of sophisticated and foreign-made firearms by criminals is an issue of concern. It will be investigated how many such illegal firearms have found their way into the Prayagraj region, they added.