Indians For Guns

Cops bust mobile gun shop that gave home deliveries

New Delhi: An AK-47 rifle for Rs 1 lakh, a double-barrel gun for Rs 40,000-Rs 45,000 and a combo-pack of a .32 bore pistol and two magazines for Rs 35,000. Savinder Kumar had a "weapon pack" to suit every criminal on his client list and his warehouse was in the boot of his car. He would take orders on WhatsApp or Imo, a video chat software, and deliver at the client's doorstep. Until Tuesday, when police were tipped off about a suspicious Chevrolet Aveo that was to deliver a "consignment" near Sarai Kale Khan.

Police recovered 50 sophisticated pistols and 100 cartridges from specially made cavities in the Aveo's boot, their biggest arms haul in two years. Kumar, a resident of Meerut, later told cops he had set up a "factory" in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, with the help of local manufacturers and assembled and supplied weapons on demand.

Additional commissioner (cell) Alok Kumar said his teams had received information about a large network of illegal arms suppliers with roots in Bihar and Jharkhand who were operating in NCR and adjoining areas in Uttar Pradesh. Police suspect the racket may have links to local Maoist elements. A team has been dispatched to Jharkhand.

"A special team led by DCP Sanjeev Yadav was formed after which sources were deployed and surveillance was mounted on suspects. This led to identification of one Savinder Kumar alias Savi being an active carrier and supplier of sophisticated illegal arms to criminals. The informer also tipped us about a cherry coloured car DL 8CL 3202 being used in the smuggling of weapons," additional CP Kumar said.

On February 2, the team received inputs that Savinder would be delivering a consignment. A team led by inspector Rajesh Sehrawat laid a trap at vantage points in the area. Savinder pulled up at the designated time and waited for 10 minutes before he got suspicious and tried to drive away. Police detained him, seizing a 7.65mm pistol that he was carrying. "Initially, he tried to hoodwink the team by claiming he only had one weapon but we carried out a thorough search of the car. A specially designed cavity was found under the boot. There were 49 pistols packed with with two magazines each. He was arrested and an FIR under the Arms Act was registered. The accused was then put through sustained interrogation during which he spilled the beans," DCP Sanjeev Yadav said.

Savinder told police he had delivered at least six similar consignments in the past one-and-a-half years. These included at least 400-500 pistols and "combo packs" to criminals and gangs in NCR, western UP and Haryana. For transporting the weapons inside the city, Savinder had purchased the sedan and roped in an engineer to create cavities in it. Savinder, who has studied till Class XII, was earlier arrested in a case of attempt to murder and was out on bail.