Nine held for illegal arms trade linked to J&K

Pune: In a joint operation, the Tofkhana police and the Southern Command Military Intelligence unit, Pune, on Saturday arrested nine natives of Jammu and Kashmir in Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) for their alleged involvement in illegal sale of weapons. The Tofkhana police of Ahilyanagar recovered 12 bore rifles and 58 live cartridges and confirmed the weapons were not of military grade, but used mainly by security guards. The accused were employed as security personnel in Ahilyanagar and Pune and were in possession of fake arms licences.

Superintendent of police Rakesh Ola told TOI, "After contacting the authorities in Rajouri district in J&K, we confirmed the licences were bogus and not issued by any official department. The individuals worked in Ahilyanagar as security guards for the last two years." The main suspect, Sher Ahmed Ghulam Hasan of Kalakoth in Rajouri, was a facilitator.



He provided fake licences and rifles, both procured from J&K, to individuals seeking jobs as security guards for Rs50,000 each, said the police. Investigators said they were yet to confirm the arrested men's involvement in alleged anti-national activities or links with any terror organisation. "We are probing all possible angles.

As of now, we have not established any concrete connection in the said matter," added Ola. A senior police officer, on the condition of anonymity, told TOI, "The matter is serious, since the weapons and cartridges are from J&K. We need to investigate the exact source of the firearms and its customer base in Maharashtra.

We have not yet found any substantial lead to confirm the nine men were involved in the weapons business, but cannot rule out the possibility." Though the Maharashtra police have earlier found illegal arms supply from Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, this is the first time that another route and state has cropped up in investigations, said the police. "We need to find out whether it is a well-established network or a rudimentary one to earn easy money," said a senior officer from Ahilyanagar police.

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