Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Months after exposing a long-running illegal arms manufacturing racket, the Crime Branch police on Monday arrested the network's key accused, Narendra Parmar, who was allegedly involved in the trafficking of country-made pistols and firearms in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
According to police, the gang had been operating an illegal arms factory for nearly four decades, with three generations of the same family involved in manufacturing weapons.
Additional DCP Shailendra Singh Chauhan said the investigation began after the arrest of three persons, including Karond resident Mukhtar Khan, who revealed that he had purchased a country-made pistol from Surendra Vishwakarma, a resident of Tikamgarh, for Rs 32,000.
Crime Branch teams raided locations in Tikamgarh and uncovered two arms manufacturing units.
Investigations revealed that Surendra's father, Anandi Vishwakarma, had started making weapons under the guise of manufacturing agricultural tools nearly 40 years ago, and later his son and grandson continued the trade.
One factory was operating from Surendra's residence, while another was from a warehouse on agricultural fields.
Raids resulted in the seizure of a country-made pistol, three unfinished pistols, cartridges, magazines, iron frames, springs, triggers, machinery and sufficient raw material to manufacture dozens of firearms.
Police also found that the gang had expanded its supply network to several districts in Uttar Pradesh.
Besides Narendra Parmar and Surendra Vishwakarma, police identified Saif Ali alias Rinku, Mumtaz Ali and Anandi Vishwakarma among those involved in the racket who are on the run.
