Man held for supplying arms to gang members

New Delhi, June 16

A 34-year-old man was arrested for allegedly supplying illegal firearms to members of a gang, police said on Wednesday.

The arrest follows after three members of the “Santro gang” were apprehended for their alleged involvement in series of crimes, including robbery-cum-murder, committed within a span of a few hours in a night in the national capital, they said.

Accused arms supplier Sonu Panwar alias Baba Khan was arrested from Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, police said, adding he has also been found previously involved in a 2009 case of attempt to murder registered at Kotwali police station in the state.

Last week, Delhi Police had arrested three men, identified as Rizwan (28), Shamshad (29) and Nasir (20), all residents of Loni in Ghaziabad, from Garhmukteshwar in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly committing a spate of robberies in a single night in the national capital.

Among the four cases registered against them, one was a robbery-cum-murder case, police said.

According to the police, they arrested Panwar based on the disclosure made by Rizwan during interrogation. He had told them that he had purchased his pistol from a man based in Ahera village of Baghpat district in UP for Rs 45,000.

Rizwan also disclosed that after committing the crime, he returned the pistol to the arms supplier and asked him to replace as it was having some error while firing, police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest Delhi) Usha Rangnani said, “A team of special staff was constituted which traced the arms supplier through local intelligence. Thereafter, a trap was laid in Ahera village of Baghpat district and subsequently, the accused arms supplier identified as Sonu Panwar was nabbed on Tuesday.”

“The accused confessed that he had supplied the firearm to Rizwan for a sum of Rs 45,000 and a few days back, Rizwan had returned the same to him saying that there was some error while firing from the pistol. The firearm used by Rizwan during the (robbery) incidents was also recovered from his possession,” he said.

The “Santro gang” members were involved in series of crimes in a single night, including robbery-cum-murder of a truck driver, in Punjabi Bagh area during the intervening night of June 7-8. The same night, the gang also committed one more robbery at gunpoint and attempted two more in different areas across the city, according to the police.

The stolen vehicle used in the commission of the crime has already been recovered from the gang members in burnt condition, the police said. PTI

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