Illegal arms smuggling module busted in Pathankot, 2 arrested

Counter-Intelligence, Pathankot, on Thursday, busted an illegal arms smuggling module with the arrest of two persons, Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said.

“Those arrested have been identified as Kanwalpreet Singh alias Kanwar, a resident of Buttar Kalan village in Batala and Ranjit Singh, a resident of Bhaini Bangar in Gurdaspur. One 9 mm Glock pistol, one .30-bore pistol, two .32-bore pistols, four magazines and 39 cartridges were recovered from them,” the DGP added.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that Kanwalpreet was in contact with US-based gangster Pavittar Singh Chaurra, a native of Chaurra village in Batala, and was acting at his behest, Yadav said.

Probe also revealed that Chaurra arranged this weapon consignment to further supply to the criminal elements to disturb the peace and harmony of the border state, he said.

Further investigations are being conducted to establish backwards and forward linkages to unearth this entire network. Efforts are also being made to discover the other crimes committed by the accused, he added.

Sharing more details, assistant inspector general, CI, Pathankot, Sukhminder Singh Mann, said following a tip-off that the two operatives of gangster Chaurra had retrieved a weapon consignment, police teams launched an operation and arrested both them from the area of Batala police district.

Both the arrested accused have a criminal history. Kanwalpreet has three criminal cases, including a murder attempt and criminal trespassing, the officer added.

“After being released from Gurdaspur jail on December 10, 2024, he got involved in criminal activities and was booked in connection with a case of firing at the house of a man with an intention to kill him,” Mann said, adding that Ranjit was also booked in an Arms Act case registered at Ghaniye Ke Bangar police station in Batala.