Police said that they have also recovered 11 semi-automatic pistols and three single shot pistols from the possession of the accused.

The police have identified the accused as Dhara Singh (55), a resident of Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh, who had supplied over 1500 weapons in the Delhi-NCR to criminals. 

“This nexus was being operated by a notorious gunrunner identified as Pawan, who is running a pan-India network and is in contact with the gangsters spread across India. The accused, Dhara Singh, was a key member of the nexus,” said police.

The Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) HGS Dhaliwal said that after the arrest of four arms traffickers --Manpreet, Dilshad, Mangeram and Daud -- in past few months, a team was tasked to bust other arms syndicates to cut the supply line of illegal firearms being brought into Delhi/NCR by various firearms suppliers.

“During development of intelligence, it came to light that Dhara Singh was supplying illegal firearms and ammunition to local gangs in Delhi/NCR. This information was further developed, and sources were deployed to gather more information regarding the alleged Dhara,” said the Special CP.

On the early morning of July 9, one of the deployed sources gave specific inputs regarding the alleged Dhara, informing that he would come to Ring Road near Dhaula Kuan to deliver a significant quantity of high-quality firearms and ammunition to a member of the local gang as per the direction of Pawan (the kingpin of the syndicate).

“A trap was laid and Dhara was apprehended. On search, 11 high-quality semi-automatic pistols of 7.65 (.32) bore and three single-shot pistols of .315 bore were recovered from his possession,” said the Special CP.

On interrogation, it was revealed that he used to procure the firearms and ammunition from local manufacturers in Madhya Pradesh and supply the same to various gangs in Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, MP, and Maharashtra.

“He was also connected to the gunrunner syndicate of Jagat. In 2022, Jagat was arrested by the MP Police with a huge quantity of illegal pistols. Later, he got connected to an inter-state gunrunner syndicate headed by Pawan,” said Dhaliwal.

“He had supplied or smuggled more than 1500 illegal firearms and ammunition to date to various states. He would purchase the illegal semi-automatic pistols for Rs. 8000–10000 and supply them for Rs. 25000–30000,” said the official. (IANS/AP)