Thane contractor arrested for possession of country-made pistol

A contractor was arrested at Dombivli by the Thane crime branch for alleged possession of a country-made pistol.

Jitu Ramesh Nishad ,42, is a contractor and resident of Manpada area in Dombivli.

Police said Nishad has a criminal background and has been arrested earlier too. “After we got a tip-off from senior police inspector Nitin Thakare, we laid a trap and caught Nishad with a country-made pistol and three live rounds. The total value of the seized goods is Rs20,000. We are investigating as to why and when Nishad purchased the pistol,” said D Sarak , sub-inspector from Thane crime branch unit 1. Nishad was arrested on Saturday.

A case has been registered with the Manpada police station under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act.

Sarak said , “We found that the pistol did not have a license and Nishad had had it for the past few months. He had been hiding it at home. We are also checking if he was about to commit any crime or had threatened people.”

Police said that Nishad was arrested last year for possession of a country-made gun. In that case, too, the gun was found to be without a license and police said it had been purchased by Nishad’s friend, who later gave it to him.