Six held with 14 drone-dropped pistols in Amritsar, says DGP Gaurav Yadav

Amritsar. Punjab Police said on Tuesday that handlers based abroad were allegedly sending pistols into the state by drone, while local men picked up the consignments and sold the weapons to criminals. Police in Amritsar have arrested six people and seized 14 pistols.

Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the Amritsar Commissionerate Police had broken up two separate illegal arms supply networks. One of the six, Swaran Singh of Sector 17, Panchkula, in Haryana, was caught on his own with eight pistols, more than half of the total haul.

How did the drone arms network work?

DGP Gaurav Yadav said the first findings showed the accused were allegedly in touch with foreign-based handlers through social media. These handlers allegedly arranged for the weapons to be dropped by drones. The accused then allegedly collected the consignments and passed the pistols on to people involved in crime.

Police are now trying to find other associates and trace the network’s full backward and forward links, the DGP said.

Two operations, two hauls

Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Harmanbir Singh Gill said the first operation was based on reliable inputs. Police teams arrested five accused, Bobby Singh, Ravinder Singh alias Manna, Gurpreet Singh alias Preet, Kamal and Ajay Singh alias Kaka, and recovered six pistols from them.

In the second operation, police acted on specific information and arrested Swaran Singh with eight pistols, the CP said.

Who are the accused?

Bobby Singh and Ravinder Singh alias Manna are from Talwandi Shoba Singh village in Tarn Taran. Gurpreet Singh alias Preet comes from Khohala village and now lives in Max City, Jandpeer Colony, Amritsar. Kamal lives in Sandhu Colony and Ajay Singh alias Kaka in Essma Estate, both in Amritsar.

What weapons were seized?

The 14 pistols are:

– a .30 bore TISAS Zigana

– a .30 bore Zigana Eagle

– a .30 bore Chinese-made pistol

– two 9mm pistols

– seven other .30 bore pistols

– two .32 bore pistols

Which cases have been registered?

Police have registered two FIRs under Section 25(6), (7) and (8) of the Arms Act. FIR No. 272, dated November 2, was registered at Chheharta police station. FIR No. 207, dated November 8, was registered at Civil Lines police station.

Police said the arrests are part of the drive to make Punjab safe and secure, carried out on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann.