BHOPAL: A 15- member team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrived in Jabalpur on Thursday to probe into the racket, which sourced used parts of discarded/condemned AK- 47 rifles from the city- based central ordinance depot (COD). The racketeers used to assembly fresh AK-47 rifles before allegedly selling them to organised criminals, coal mafia and naxalites in Bihar and adjoining states for prices ranging between Rs 7 to Rs 8 lakh per gun.
The NIA is conducting investigations into the interstate AK-47 smuggling racket which was busted in Bihar, but allegedly has crucial strands in Jabalpur. According to sources connected with investigations into the racket, this is NIA team’s second visit to Jabalpur within a fortnight. Out of the 35 persons/suspects who have been arrested so far by Bihar and MP police in this case, four hail from Jabalpur, including an ex-Indian Army armourer Purshottam Rajak, his wife Chandrawati, son Shivendra and a civilian employee of COD-Jabalpur identified as Surendra Thakur. Rajak, who retired from the army in 2008, started colluding with civilian employee of COD Suresh Thakur since 2012, to source discarded/condemned AK-47 guns or their parts from the COD.
These parts were reassembled by Rajak into fresh guns and then transported by train or road with the help of son and wife to Bihar. Once in Bihar, the guns were handed over to gunrunners like Irfan, (whose arrest has busted the racket in August 2018) allegedly in return for Rs 5 lakh per gun. Out of this sum 80% was kept by Rajak, while remaining 20% went to the COD employee Suresh Thakur. Sources privy to investigations confided to Free Press that the NIA team was at the COD on Friday along with Thakur and Rajak in custody.
The NIA team is believed to have seized important records pertaining to stock of the discarded/condemned guns of defence forces of last several years from the COD. The grilling of Thakur and Rajak by the Bihar and Jabalpur police in the past and now by the NIA team is believed to have brought under the scanner names of some more persons associated with racket.
