Lawrence Bishnoi gang member gets 1-yr jail in Arms Act case

Chandigarh, May 23

A local court has sentenced Inderpreet Singh, alias Parry, an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of one year after convicting him under Section 25 (1B) (a) of the Arms Act.

The court has also imposed a penalty of Rs 1,000 on the accused. He was arrested by the Chandigarh Police with another accused, Bharat Bhushan, alias Bhola Shooter (now dead), on a tip-off that two persons were roaming in Sector 63, here, with arms. The police arrested both accused on July 27, 2017 near Sector 63 here with country-made pistols and live cartridges. After investigation, the police submitted a chargesheet against the accused.

Finding a prima facie case under Section 25 of the Arms Act, 1959, charges were framed against the accused to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

During trial, accused Bharat Bhushan expired and proceedings against him were dropped vide order dated April 30, 2022.

The counsel for the accused claimed the accused was falsely implicated in the case and no recovery as alleged was effected from him. The recovery of pistol had been planted upon him. He accordingly prayed for his acquittal. On the other hand, the public prosecutor said the prosecution had proved the case beyond the shadow of doubt.

After hearing the arguments, Mayank Marwaha, Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Chandigarh, said it stands proved on record that accused Inderpreet, alias Parry, was found in possession of a country-made pistol with a live cartridge, which he was carrying without any valid permit or licence. As such, the commission of offence under Section 25 of the Arms Act, 1959, by accused Inderpreet, alias Parry, was fully established. Accordingly, he had been convicted for the commission of offence under Section 25(1B)(a) of the Arms Act, 1959.

The court said the period of sentence already undergone by the convict would be set off against the substantive sentence.