Ahead of election, SOG to crack whip on illegal arms

JAIPUR: The SOG, investigating the arms smuggling case, said that the arrest of a man from eastern Rajasthan near Mahwa, is just the tip of the iceberg, as there are many more people involved in the procurement of illegal arms. Senior officers of the SOG on Friday said that they will make more arrests in this connection and will come up with more raids in the factories manufacturing illegal arms.



On Thursday, sleuths of SOG had arrested a person with illegal possession of 12 country-made weapons from Mahwa in Dausa district of the state. The arrest of the person fetched some finer details on the people involved in the manufacturing of the arms. Senior police officers have not ruled out the possibility of usage of the illegal arms ahead of the assembly elections, in eastern Rajasthan.

“There are factories which were raided by Bharatpur police in Pahari area of Bharatpur district of the state, while there are people whose community was earlier into moulding of iron, have taken up the task of making countrymade pistols. The arrest of the person and his interrogation has cleared us on the actual manufacturers of the country-made weapons in the region, and we will nail them down soon,” said a senior officer of SOG.

When contacted, Karan Sharma, additional SP, SOG, said, “Those who were involved in the manufacturing of the arms have been identified. Our teams are roaming in the area and the accused would be nailed down soon.”

Senior officers said that proactive action against the smuggling of illegal arms will continue. According to the senior police officers, in 2013 assembly elections, violence and firing incidents were witnessed in the areas including Gothara and Hadula in Dausa districts of the state.

In the interrogation of the accused, it was also found that he had delivered arms twice in Bharatpur and nearby areas. Thus, possibility of violence can’t be ruled out.

Meanwhile, the senior officers of Rajasthan police headquarters have specifically asked 10 range IGs to crack a whip on the smuggling of arms during elections.