Surat: An autorickshaw driver was arrested from an area under Valsad rural police station limits and five country-made single barrel shotguns were seized from his vehicle on a bridge over Par river near Chinchai village in Valsad on Tuesday. Three other men escaped into the nearby forest on noticing that police was conducting checks in the area.
Police arrested Raman Bable Ravte, a resident of Rudana near Khanwel, in Silvassa. He was driving the autorickshaw which did not have a registration number. Police stopped the autorickshaw on receiving specific information when it was coming from Silvassa on Chinchai village road. During the search, police recovered five shotguns, two plastic bottles with black powder and two plastic bottles containing bearings.
Ravte told police that Lakshi Kanar, Ganpat Chida and Gopi were with him but they escaped from the vehicle. Police have launched a manhunt for them.
“Normally, hunters keep shotguns. We are questioning the arrested accused to find out where they were going. We are also checking if they planned to commit loot,” said Sunil Joshi, superintendent of police, Valsad.
