New Delhi: The Delhi Police has busted an arms racket and arrested four persons associated with the notorious Neeraj Bawana gang with 15 semi-automatic pistols, 150 live rounds and eight additional magazines.
This is one of the biggest such seizures in recent times, Harsh Indora, DC (Crime Branch), Delhi Police, said on Sunday.
The operation started with the arrest of arms supplier Mohammad Shajid (42) from the parking lot of the Netaji Subhash Place District Centre on August 11. He was found seated in a car with 10 pistols, 118 live rounds and eight extra magazines.
During interrogation, Shajid revealed that he had been sourcing firearms from Meerut and Mawana in Uttar Pradesh and supplying them to members of the Neeraj Bawana Afsar gangs and other crime syndicates in Delhi-NCR.
“He admitted that he had supplied over 100 firearms to criminals. Each of these he purchased for Rs 35,000 to 40,000 and sold for Rs 50,000 to 60,000, generating huge profits,” Indora said.
Based on information provided by Shajid, Vishal Rana (28), a resident of Inderpuri in Delhi, was arrested on August 17. A pistol and three rounds of ammunition were seized from him. Rana was involved in two arms cases previously. Another accused, Aniket (32), a resident of Rajouri Garden, was arrested on September 9 with a semi-automatic pistol and two live rounds, the police said.
“On September 13, the third receiver, Kirti Nagar resident Sourabh Dhingra (38) was arrested with three semi-automatic pistols and 27 live rounds. He was earlier involved in three cases, including attempted murder,” the DCP added.
Shajid is a history-sheeter involved in arms trafficking and other serious crimes. He had been arrested in Delhi in 2012 in two separate robbery and dacoity cases.
In 2023, he was apprehended by the Special Cell with a large consignment of firearms and jailed. He resumed the trade after being released on bail.
“Efforts are on to identify and apprehend those selling such arms to people like Shajid. The crackdown will continue to dismantle the syndicates fuelling organised crime in Delhi,” Indora said.