Cuttack: The Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Crime Branch has arrested the mastermind of the illegal arms manufacturing unit busted in Cuttack’s Bada Dhuleswar village under 42 Mouza police limits this March.
The arrested has been identified as Md Aslam of Munger in Bihar. He was nabbed on May 20, produced before the local court in Munger and brought to Bhubaneswar on 3-day transit remand.
“A five-member team was sent to Bihar, where it apprehended the accused in coordination with their counterparts. Aslam had visited Bada Dhabaleswar village several times to collect half-made small firearms,” DIG Special Task Force Pinak Mishra told a presser on Friday.
The STF had detected one manufacturing unit of illegal firearms on March 13 and seized huge quantity of manufacturing materials of 7 mm pistol including 29 gun parts with barrel, 14 slides, 36 grips, 15 barrels, 14 iron bars, a lathe machine with motor, a milling machine with motor, a drilling machine with motor, a grinder machine and other instruments.
Misra further informed that five inter-state criminals, including the house owner Sarat Yadav, were earlier arrested in connection with the racket. “The other accused persons Md Azam and Md Abid Husain made several financial transactions with Aslam for running the illegal arms manufacturing unit,” he said.
He stated that Aslam will be produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate, Cuttack. “The STF will appeal to the court for a five-day remand of the accused to ascertain whether he has contacts elsewhere in Odisha. His criminal antecedants are being verified since he was earlier convicted in a case. All actors of the organised gang will be identified,” he added.