CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police has dismantled three illegal arms supply networks with the arrest of eight individuals, including a juvenile, and recovered 15 illegal sophisticated pistols from their possession.
Director General of Police, Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, said here on Wednesday that those arrested have been identified as Satnam Singh alias Sukha (20), a resident of Pato Hira Singh village in Moga; Bhalla Singh (26), a resident of Manoke Gill village in Moga; Gautam Singh alias Billa (23), a resident of Ahmadpura village in Tarn Taran; Manvir Singh alias Gurvir Singh (24), a resident of Vishal Nagar in Ludhiana; Jaskarandeep Singh alias Jassa (23), a resident of Bhuchar Kalan village in Tarn Taran; Simranjit Sandhu alias Billa (27), a resident of Nive Tung in Amritsar; Abhi alias Bawa (25), a resident of Vadda Haripura in Amritsar; and a 17-year-old juvenile.
The recovered weapons include three .30 bore Beretta pistols (made in Italy), one .30 bore PX-5 Storm, one .30 bore pistol (made in China), eight .30 bore pistols and two .32 bore pistols, along with 15 live cartridges. Apart from recovering the weapons, police teams also impounded two cars allegedly being used for criminal activities.
Yadav said preliminary investigation had revealed that the accused were allegedly linked to foreign-based arms smugglers and were procuring illegal weapons for further distribution to criminal elements in the region. “Investigation has also revealed links of the accused with other associates involved in the illegal arms supply network,” he said.
He said further investigation was underway to uncover the complete backward and forward linkages in the case and identify other persons involved.
Sharing details of the first operation, Amritsar Commissioner of Police Harmanbir Singh Gill said that, acting on specific information and following a systematic investigation, police teams arrested Satnam alias Sukha and Bhalla Singh while they were travelling in their car and recovered five pistols along with five live cartridges from their possession.
In another operation, he said police arrested Gautam alias Billa, Manvir alias Gurvir Singh and Jaskarandeep alias Jassa and recovered seven illegal pistols along with 10 live cartridges, besides impounding their car.
In the third operation, Gill said that, acting on specific information, police teams arrested Simranjit alias Billa, following which his associates Abhi alias Bawa and a juvenile were also apprehended. A total of three pistols were recovered during the investigation, he added.
He said the probe had revealed that the accused were allegedly procuring illegal firearms from a common source and subsequently supplying the weapons at different locations.
In this regard, three separate cases have been registered: FIR No. 184 dated 02.10.2026 under Sections 25 and 25(6,7,8) of the Arms Act at Cantonment Police Station; FIR No. 301 dated 03.10.2026 under Section 25(8) of the Arms Act at Islamabad Police Station; and FIR No. 235 dated 04.10.2026 under Sections 25(6,7,8) of the Arms Act at Chheharta Police Station in Amritsar.