AHMEDABAD: In a major crackdown, the Gujarat ATS has exposed a racket involving bogus arms licenses issued to Gujaratis using fake addresses from Nagaland and Manipur.
Acting on intelligence, the ATS seized over 21 firearms and 624 live cartridges, unearthing a deep-rooted network. The probe revealed that individuals from Haryana were behind the issuance of these counterfeit licenses linked to the Northeast.
So far, 108 people have been booked, with 23 already arrested, while a massive manhunt is underway to nab the remaining accused.
Tightening its grip on the fake arms license racket, the Gujarat ATS has arrested 16 more individuals linked to the scam. This fresh wave of arrests follows the April 8 operation, where seven accused were caught with six illegal weapons and 135 live cartridges.
Building on their remand and interrogation, ATS swiftly tracked down and apprehended 16 additional suspects, intensifying the probe into the growing arms license fraud.
Gujarat ATS DySP S.L. Chaudhary told reporters on Thursday, “The ATS had registered a case related to bogus arms licenses and initially arrested seven accused. The court granted an 11-day remand for their interrogation. During this period, we received information about 16 more individuals involved. The ATS acted swiftly and recovered 15 weapons and 489 cartridges from them. Several bogus licenses have also been seized.”
The 16 recently arrested accused were lured into the bogus arms license racket after encountering the initial seven suspects flaunting weapons at religious functions and weddings.
Captivated by the display, they expressed interest in owning licensed firearms themselves. Investigations revealed these individuals paid between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh to secure fake arms licenses and weapons from states outside Gujarat, using payment channels like Angadiya networks and bank transfers.
The earlier seven accused operated as walking advertisements - strapping firearms to their waists at public gatherings to attract attention. Once approached, they guided curious onlookers through the forged process, collecting documents like Aadhaar cards and three years' I-T returns. Within days, they delivered fake licenses and arms - provided the hefty payment was made.
The 16 recently arrested individuals have confessed to acquiring fake arms licenses and weapons directly from the seven suspects earlier held by the Gujarat ATS. Key accused - Saukat Ali, Farooq Ali, Sohim Ali, and Asif - had procured forged licenses from Nagaland and Manipur while operating out of Nuh, Haryana.
Investigations have now revealed that this Haryana-based network issued bogus licenses to at least 37 individuals. Alarmingly, ATS suspects possible complicity of officials from Nagaland and Manipur in enabling the arms license scam, pushing the probe into inter-state corruption territory.