Man takes loan to buy guns, make a quick buck; held in Delhi

A 31-year-old man from Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh was arrested from north Delhi on August 4 with a consignment of 21 illegal pistols, the Delhi Police said on Saturday, adding that he borrowed money from his friends and mortgaged his wife’s jewellery to invest in the illegal trade.

Police identified the suspect as Lal Singh Chadhar, a former security guard at a private school in Sagar. This was the first consignment of firearms that Chadhar smuggled into the city but was caught by a team of the special cell last week, police said.

Police said that Chadhar was nabbed after a brief scuffle during which his left shoulder got dislocated while trying to flee. He was admitted to a government hospital, where he was given medical attention, and his shoulder was plastered.

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Special commissioner of police (special cell) HGS Dhaliwal said that Chadhar was nabbed after the police received information that he procured the firearms from Burhanpur and will reach near Gandhi Museum on Ring Road to deliver the same to one of his clients.

“Accordingly, a trap was laid under the supervision of deputy commissioner of police Rajiv Ranjan Singh. Chadhar arrived around 3.20pm and was waiting for his contact. The team nabbed him after a scuffle and seized 21 pistols. A case under the relevant sections of law was registered at the special cell police station and Chadhar was arrested,” added Dhaliwal.

Police said that Chadhar came in contact with one Rajesh Pyasi of Sagar, who was operating a syndicate of illegal pistols in the area. “To earn quick money, Chadhar also started selling pistols in the area. Pyasi introduced Chadhar to an illegal arms supplier from Burhanpur in MP. Each recovered pistol was purchased for around ₹7,000. Chadhar had planned to sell the pistols for ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 each. However, he was arrested before the consignment of firearms could be delivered,” added the special CP.

The sale value of the seized pistols was made out to be around ₹6 lakh while he invested nearly ₹2 lakh to procure them from the supplier in Madhya Pradesh.

The seizure of firearms happened nearly 10 days before Independence Day for which the city has been put on a high alert. The city police have already intensified their presence at all borders of the city, police added.