BHUBANESWAR: Intensifying its crackdown on the illicit gun manufacturing units in Odisha and supply of firearms to criminals outside the state, the Special Task Force (STF) of Crime Branch has nabbed a notorious arms dealer Md Aslam from Bihar’s Munger.
Police said, Aslam was linked to the illegal arms unit that was busted in 42 Mouza of Cuttack earlier this year. In March, STF had nabbed the unit’s kingpin Sarat Chandra Yadav and his associates Md Budhu of West Bengal along with Md Abid Husein and Md Kallu of Munger district in Bihar.
During the raid, the STF had seized huge quantities of materials for making 7 mm pistol including 29 gun parts with barrel, 14 slides, 36 grips, 15 barrels, 14 iron bars, a lathe machine with motor, a milling machine with motor, a drilling machine with motor, a grinder machine along with other tools.
“Aslam had come in contact with Budhu, Husein and Kallu when they were all lodged in Katihar jail. After they were released, Aslam procured at least 70 guns from the gunmaking unit in 42 Mouza and sold them in Bihar, West Bengal and Assam,” said STF SP, Rabindra Nath Satpathy.
During searches, STF seized huge quantity of materials used to manufacture 7 mm countrymade pistols from Aslam. He was also earlier arrested by West Bengal Police under Arms Act. “So far, six persons have been arrested for their involvement in the illegal gun manufacturing unit at 42 Mouza. Aslam was brought to Odisha on Friday,” Satpathy said.
Police said, in the recent years, criminals have turned their attention to Odisha in terms of manufacturing firearms here as well as establishing gunrunning network from the state. Odisha too has witnessed a spurt in organised crimes and many of them were planned by hardcore criminals lodged in various jails in Bihar and later executed here by them and their accomplices, the sources said.
“Not just manufacturing of arms in Odisha and their supply from the state, criminals lodged in various Bihar jails are also planning and executing various other organised crimes here. Investigation has revealed that the attempted loot of a jewellery shop in Panikoili by a gang of armed robbers in which two citizens were shot dead and the Manappuram Gold Loan office heist in Sambalpur earlier in January were planned in Bihar’s Katihar jail,” said Satpathy.
The recent crackdown will be intensified and efforts will be made to ensure criminals lodged in Bihar jails or those who walked out from there are not able to carry out organised crimes in the state, he added.