KOCHI: Mirzapur-Bardah. The probe to find the source of the country-made pistol used by a stalker to kill a dental student in Nellikuzhy, Kothamangalam, seems to be pointing to this village in Munger, about 200 km from Patna, Bihar. Mirzapur-Bardah is the nucleus of a thriving industry of manufacturing, assembling, repairing and selling all kinds of weapons, including small arms like pistols to even AK-47 and AK-57 assault rifles.
Sources said Rakhil, 32, who shot dead 24-year-old Manasa P V last week, had visited this village in Bihar along with a migrant labourer who was familiar with the place. The migrant worker was employed by Rakhil in his interior design company. As per the information from a source in Bihar, getting a pistol or AK -47 is not a difficult task in Munger. The special team constituted by Ernakulam Rural SP K Karthik is also learned to have reached the district based on the information provided by Rakhil’s friend.
“Due to certain security reasons, we cannot reveal the exact location of the SIT, but it is almost near to Munger. This is still a hub of illegal gun making. We are very close to tracing the exact location from where Rakhil got the pistol he used for shooting Manasa,” said a police officer on condition of anonymity.For over two centuries, Munger, which is located 210 km south-east of Patna on the southern banks of the Ganges, had an association with indigenous gun making.
“The gunmakers came to prominence here after the World War I through the development of cartridge weapons. The defence ministry needed 410-bore muskets during the 1962 Indo-China War, which were manufactured by the Munger Ordnance Factory. However, afterward, it was shut down and many workers remained unemployed. They set up private workshops for production of firearms and the place became a hub of illegal gun making,” said Amritesh, a Bihar native who has sound knowledge of Munger’s history.
According to Amritesh, procuring a gun and taking it to another state is as easy as delivering a kitchen utensil. “Gun manufacturers have agents. If anyone needs a gun, they can contact the agent and they will take the buyer to the manufacturing hub. If the person wants the gun delivered to their location, the agent will come and deliver it. The customer has to bear only the expenses of the delivery. Guns are available at prices ranging from `3,000 to `2 lakh,” added Amritesh.