Athlete-turned-bookie caught trying to sell unlicensed guns in Gurugram

The police arrested a 32-year-old national-level handball player from Sector 102, Dhankot—some 8 kilometres from the city—on Wednesday night for allegedly carrying four firearms without licence. Based on the interrogation of Manjeet alias Kalu, a resident of Badsa village in Jhajjar’s Badli, the police said two of the country-made guns were meant to be sold and the other two were for “personal security”.

“The suspect was in debt and wanted to use the money earned from selling two of the four guns to pay a contract killer and eliminate those to whom he owed money,” assistant commissioner of police (crime) Shamsher Singh said, adding that the suspect was reportedly under debt even though he had paid off ₹2.5 crore to lenders, who were threatening him to pay the balance of ₹2.5 crore.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Manjeet—a history-sheeter wanted in a case of assault in Jhajjar where he had beaten three policemen—was a bookie and a financier, whose mainstay was lending money to bookies, apart from dabbling in the lottery business.

The athlete allegedly took to the business after college when he quit sports because of a ligament tear.

ACP Singh said that the suspect had allegedly lost ₹5 crore over a series of lots bets in 2017. “Before that he was financially sound and used to lend money to bookies and small-time financiers in Jhajjar and neighbouring areas,” Singh said.

On Wednesday night, he had allegedly come to Gurugram with three country-made .32 revolvers and one 9mm pistol, which he had bought for ₹2 lakh from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. The police said that he was looking for a middleman who would help him sell two of the guns for ₹4 lakh.

He was arrested based on a tip-off that some people would come to Dhankot to buy and sell firearms, brought from outside the state. The Farrukhnagar CIA team set up a check point near the Basai drain, and two teams started checking the suspected areas and spotted Manjeet waiting outside his office in Dhankot village.

“The accused has land in Dhankot and has built an office there. He often visited Gururgam for work,” said sub-inspector Indivar, known only by his first name.

The police team searched Manjeet and recovered four country-made firearms from him. On being questioned, the suspect failed to give a satisfactory explanation for carrying unlicensed firearms.

Indivar said Manjeet was arrested as he did not have a permit or licence for the weapons. “We suspect that he might have sold weapons to criminals in the city and nearby areas earlier as well, and may be affiliated with gangs or gangsters involved in major crimes in the district. We are investigating all angles to know if he planned to kill someone or if he was about to give a contract for the same,” he said.

The police said they are trying to identify his prospective customers, who were planning to purchase the weapons from him.

The police have arrested him under Section 25-54-59 of the Arms Act, and a case was registered at the Rajendra Park police station following which he was produced before the court after interrogation on Thursday.

Police said that Manjeet was remanded to 14 days in judicial custody, police said.

Manjeet alias Kalu is a five times national handball player and he played nationals thrice until class 10. He got admission in a reputed school in Bhiwani based on his sports performance and there he played nationals in both years. After school, he got admission in a Rewari college from where he pursued his BA and participated in inter-university tournaments.

First Published: Apr 19, 2019 04:55 IST