Delhi Police on Saturday claimed to have busted an illegal arms manufacturing unit operating out of Rajasthan’s Bharatpur with the arrest of six people and recovery of country-made firearms.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Harsh Indora, a huge cache of illegal firearms, including country-made pistols (desi katta), rifles, and various tools and instruments used for manufacturing firearms, has been recovered from the possession of the accused.
According to another officer, the case came to light after a tip-off was received a few days ago, about one Bilal Khan, 22, who was allegedly delivering weapons in Delhi. Subsequently, an FIR was registered and, further probe was initiated.
On the intervening night of July 27 and 28, ASI (Assistant Sub-Inspector) Narender and HC (Head Constable) Dharamraj received credible information about a planned delivery of arms by Bilal in the Bamnoli area of Dwarka in Delhi. According to the police, a trap was laid, and Bilal was apprehended while in possession of 8 single-shot pistols and a scooter.
During questioning, Bilal led the team to a factory in Bhima Pahari, Dheeg, Bharatpur in Rajasthan. Upon raiding the factory, two single-shot pistols, a semi-prepared single-shot pistol, three parts of a semi-prepared rifle, multiple tools and instruments used in arms manufacturing, grinder machine, hammer, iron plates, metal files (Retti), wire cutter, chisels, screwdriver, iron body plates, barrels, screws, bench vise, reg mark, steel wires, and 16 components used for assembling illegal firearms were recovered.
Following the recovery of the illegal arms, police said that Bilal disclosed the name of one of his suppliers, identified as Sahil (25) from Deeg, Rajasthan. Soon after, Sahil was arrested, and two more single-shot pistols were recovered from his possession, police said.
This latest case is not Sahil’s first brush with the law. According to the officer, Sahil was previously involved in cases of online cheating in 2023. Sahil came into contact with Bilal, and together, they formed a syndicate of illegal firearms, police added.
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Apart from Sahil and Bilal, four more individuals — Ravinder, Mustaq, Pawan, and Rahish — were arrested, each found in possession of a single-shot pistol. They were the receivers of the illegal arms, the officer said.
The police said Bilal is engaged in running a furniture business with his brother Asgar. According to the police, Asgar has a previous record of involvement in arms supply and was arrested by the Special Cell in 2020 with an illegal arms consignment.
On how Bilal entered into the world of illegal arms manufacturing, the officer said, “Bilal confessed that he was in search of easy money and became aware of the increasing demand for illegal weapons in the Mewat region.”
In early 2017, Bilal learned how to manufacture illegal weapons from his uncle, who was running a small-scale arms manufacturing unit, the officer added. Following his uncle’s demise in 2018, Bilal began manufacturing single-shot pistols on his own.
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Initially, he produced and supplied these weapons based on demand through known contacts, the officer said. With the growing demand for illegal arms, particularly in the Bharatpur-Mewat area, Bilal’s popularity grew, which eventually led him to establish a network for a large-scale distribution of illicit arms, the officer said.