Delhi Police arrest man near Shankar Vihar, recover 10 firearms

Delhi Police’s Special Cell said it arrested Prem Singh Rathod, 33, near Shankar Vihar Bus Stand on NH 48 at about 10:30am on August 8 and recovered 10 firearms allegedly bound for Delhi.

Police said Rathod, a resident of Nepanagar in Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur district, was carrying one 9mm Zigana pistol, four 7.65mm semi-automatic pistols and five .315-bore single-shot pistols. The operation followed information about a large weapons consignment being brought into the city, police said.

Investigators allege that a network procured weapons from local gunsmiths in Burhanpur and moved them through carriers to buyers and criminal gangs in Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Police said Rathod told them he had worked as a carrier for about a year, collecting firearms in Madhya Pradesh and delivering them across states.

Police have registered a case under the Arms Act at the Special Cell police station and said they are working to identify and arrest the alleged organiser and others involved.