VILLUPURAM: The prime accused in the illegal gun manufacturing unit case that was busted few days back by the police had quit a lucrative job abroad to start the clandestine facility on Kalvarayan hills, investigations have revealed. However, police refused to divulge the details of the country he was working in.
Subramani (50), a resident of Puthirampattu and a carpenter, was arrested a few days ago after a special team busted a clandestine gun manufacturing unit on Kalvarayan hills.
On Tuesday, the police got a four-day custody of Subramani who was remanded in Cuddalore Central prison and during interrogations he reportedly told them that he was employed as a carpenter abroad.
According to the police, Subramani in his confession told them that he quit his well-paying job abroad to concentrate on the illegal gun-manufacturing unit. Sources said that Subramani used to manufacture guns whenever he used to return to his native on leave.
Last year, he came to arrange for his daughter’s marriage and found that the market for his guns had expanded.
After weighing his options, he quit his job for good and set up a clandestine unit, sources said.
“Subramani used to take orders from the tribals, who needed arms to ward off wild animals. He used to take three weeks to make a gun and charge `15,000 a piece,” a police official said. As a large chunk of orders came from Papathimoolai, Subramani made it his base, the official added.
Meanwhile, senior police officials interrogated Subramani on Wednesday and said that the inquiries would stretch to Thursday as well. He would be produced before a court on Friday morning.
According to the sources, police had collected the details of Subramani’s customers and were trying to locate them.
However, the personnel refused to divulge any details in this regard citing investigations were on.