Arms illegally bought online seized in Aurangabad, 4 held

Aurangabad: The city police’s Crime Branch has seized weapons, like swords and knives, purchased illegally through an online shopping site and arrested four employees of a courier firm in this connection, an official said on Tuesday.

The police raided the courier company’s office in the Nageshwarwadi area and its godown and seized 12 swords, 13 knives and some other sharp-edged weapons, the Crime Branch official said.

The courier service had apparently brought the parcel containing the weapons from Amritsar in Punjab. Based on suspicion, the police searched the parcel and found weapons inside it, the official said.

Four employees of the courier firm, identified as Mukesh Pachavne, Sagar Padaswan, Naveed Khan and Candu Lakhuhulkar, have been arrested, he said.

The police has launched a search for three persons who had placed the order for the weapons on the shopping website, he said.

A case was registered under relevant sections, including the Arms Act, the official said, adding that an investigation was on.

On May 11, Aurangabad had witnessed clashes between groups of two communities allegedly over illegal water connections that claimed two lives and left over 60 people, including 12 policemen, injured.

Meanwhile, senior Maharashtra Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Wednesday demanded proper investigation into online purchase of sharp-edged weapons by some people in Aurangabad, which he said were seized during communal riots. He also demanded ban on an e-retailer from which the items were allegedly purchased.

“Even though the Aurangabad police took necessary action, it is serious that weapons are sold so blatantly. The government should ban the portal,” Vikhe Patil.

Meanwhile, police on Wednesday seized five more swords, two knives, and two other sharp-edged weapons from the office of the same courier firm in Nageshwarwadi.