Two men were arrested for allegedly supplying illegal weapons to criminals based in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR), police said on Sunday.
The accused have been identified as Santoshi, 50, and Pritam Singh, 20, both residents of Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district. They were arrested on Friday, police said.
Eleven semi-automatic pistols and 10 single-shot pistols with 50 live cartridges were recovered from the accused, the police said, adding that these were brought to the national capital to be supplied to criminals in Delhi-NCR.
“Santoshi and Pritam were apprehended from near the Dilshad Garden Metro Station on Friday after a police team received information that two men were coming to deliver a consignment to criminals,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P.S. Kushwah said.
A few years ago, Santoshi was arrested after he got into a quarrel with someone and was lodged in Morena jail. In the prison, he came in contact with illegal firearms suppliers. Later, he started procuring illegal arms from them for supplying criminals in Delhi-NCR, he said. The accused would primarily source weapons from Aligarh.
He used to buy .32 bore pistols for ₹7,000 to 8,000 each and single-shot pistols for ₹2,000 to 3,000. He would sell the .32 bore and single-shot pistols for ₹20,000-25,000 and ₹4,000-5,000, respectively, Mr. Kushwah added. Santoshi has been supplying arms and ammunition to criminals for the last four years. Previously, he was arrested in three cases under the Arms Act, he said.
Three months ago, Pritam came in contact with Santoshi through his in-laws. Pritam has been working with Santoshi for quick and easy money, Mr. Kushwah added.