Illegal arms from western UP a challenge for Karnal police

Tribune News Service

Karnal, July 29

Illegal weapons procured from various parts of western Uttar Pradesh continue to be a challenge for the police as most of the illegal arms seized by the Karnal police had been procured from this region.

As per the police investigation, the Karnal police have seized 79 illegal weapons from 90 accused in the current year.

The police have prepared a list of around 40 seized weapons. Of those, the majority (21) had been procured from western UP –- Shamli (12), followed by Muzaffarnagar (3) and Saharanpur (3). Besides, a couple of seized weapons had also been procured from MP and Punjab.

Among the seized weapons, 51 are .315 bore countrymade pistols, 16 are .32 bore countrymade pistols, 5 of 12 bore countrymade pistols and one is a 9mm countrymade pistol. The police also seized 66 cartridges, the record said.

A police official involved in the investigation of a couple of cases of illegal weapons said that these countrymade weapons are easily available to notorious criminals in the various parts of western UP.

The proximity to Karnal and other bordering districts makes it convenient for criminals to bring the arms to Haryana.

“Western UP is well known for manufacturing illicit firearms and it has emerged as a major supply centre to Haryana. The arrested persons revealed that they can easily purchase these weapons there,” said the police official.

The police are also making efforts to break the chain of supply. “We are trying to reach the source of illegal weapons. To break the chain of criminals, we have strengthened the ‘nakas’ on the Haryana-UP border. Besides, we also try to determine the motive of the criminals to prevent any untoward incident,” said Ganga Ram Punia, Superintendent of Police.

He maintained that they have also been checking the records of similar criminals arrested previously to determine the source of weapons.

The SP said that the majority of crimes are committed with illegal weapons that are either countrymade or factory made, but not licensed.

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