The Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested a man for allegedly manufacturing and supplying illegal firearms to criminals in Delhi and adjoining States, officers said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Yogesh, a resident of Baba Colony in Aligarh, was carrying a reward of ₹1 lakh. He was arrested early on Wednesday after a brief exchange of fire, they said.
In January this year, the Special Cell arrested three suppliers of illegal weapon, identified as Sajid, Santoshi and Pritam.
During interrogation, they revealed that they used to procure the weapons from Yogesh, after which efforts were being made to nab him, the police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P.S. Kushwah said that the arrest was made on Wednesday when the accused came to deliver a consignment to criminals in Delhi, near Signature Bridge
“Around 5 a.m., when the accused [Yogesh] came with the consignment for delivery, he was challenged and asked to surrender. On seeing the police, he whipped out his pistol and opened fire at the police team. The police also retaliated. They fired one round after issuing a warning,” Mr. Kushwah said.
Yogesh fired two rounds at the police officers but they managed to escape unhurt. The accused, however, got shot on his right leg. He fell on the road and his pistol slipped from his hand, the DCP added.
He was immediately rushed to Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital. The accused is currently stable, the police said.
16 pistols
Illegal firearms and ammunition — 16 pistols, 56 live cartridges, two fired empty cartridges — were seized and one stolen motorcycle was recovered, the DCP also said.
During interrogation, it was revealed that Yogesh had been manufacturing pistols of various bores and sizes since the past 20 years. He used to supply the illegal firearms mainly to criminals in NCR, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. His business was badly hit and he incurred huge losses during the lockdown. He said that he also had to face shortage of raw material.
Following the recent relaxation of the restrictions that were imposed during the lockdown, criminals in the Delhi-NCR started contacting him for weapons. However, afraid of checkings during this phase his carriers refused to visit Delhi to deliver the arms. Therefore, he decided to come to the city to deliver those to the criminals in order to revive his business, he added.
He used to sell semi-automatic pistols for ₹15,000-20,000 and single-shot pistols for ₹3,000-₹4,000 to his suppliers respectively, the police said.