Police officials address medipersons in Ludhiana on Friday. Tribune Photo: Himanshu Mahajan
Nikhil Bhardwaj
Ludhiana, February 17
The Ludhiana police today arrested two accomplices of notorious gangster Sagar Newton, who is lodged in the Nabha jail, and seized six illegal weapons, 12 live cartridges and eight magazines from their possession. Interestingly, the deal of the weapons was struck by Newton with some Indore-based illegal weapon dealers while lodged in the high-security Nabha Jail.
After the arrest of the duo, the Ludhiana police also conducted a raid in the Nabha jail and seized a mobile phone from Newton through which he struck the deal.
The suspects have been identified as Munish, alias Lallu (21), and Aniket Chauhan (21), both residents of Jawahar Camp.
Commissioner of Police (CP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu, DCP (Investigation) Harmeet Singh Hundal, ADCP (Investigation) Rupinder Kaur Sran, ACP Ashok Kumar and Inspector, anti-narcotics cell, Amritpal Singh, addressed a press conference regarding the matter today.
Sidhu said the police had received a tip-off that a big consignment of illegal weapons was brought by the accomplices of Newton from some Indore-based weapon suppliers. After developing the lead, the police zeroed in on the suspects and arrested them.
“Gangster Newton had struck the deal over phone from the Nabha jail. Later, he sent his men via bus to collect the weapons from Indore. Today, the suspects had reached Ludhiana along with the weapons and later, they were apprehended. The gangster, his men and even the Indore-based smuggler had communicated with each other through social networking app Instagram only,” the CP said.
He said gangster Newton had a criminal past as he was already facing 10 criminal cases, including theft, attempt to murder, house trespassing, criminal conspiracy and robbery.
When asked if it was the first weapon deal struck by the gangster from jail, Sidhu said only investigation would clear the same. The police would bring gangster Newton on production warrant from the Nabha jail and his questioning may expose a bigger network of weapon smuggling.
About the purpose of arranging a big consignment of weapons, the top cop replied that Newton had told his accomplices to collect weapons and he would give them the task for using the same in coming days.
ADCP Rupinder Sran said it was a big catch of the Ludhiana police. The nabbed suspects have no criminal past and it would be verified from how long they were working for gangster Newton and if this was the first consignment they handled for Newton.
It is not an isolated case when gangsters or smugglers were caught operating from jail. Earlier also, such cases have come to the fore. Strict measures are needed to prevent use of mobile phones in jails, which are the main source that help criminal elements to run their networks from prison.
Not an isolated case
It is not an isolated case when gangsters or smugglers were caught operating from jail. Earlier also, such cases have come to the fore. Strict measures are needed to prevent use of mobile phones in jails, which are the main source that help criminal elements to run their networks from prison.
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