Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): Amidst the preparations for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, SP Manoj Kumar Singh spearheaded a significant operation resulting in the dismantling of an illegal arms manufacturing unit in Dhar on Monday. Acting on intelligence provided by the special task force (STF), the Dhar police apprehended two individuals engaged in the illicit sale and production of firearms.
The raid yielded a substantial seizure including eight country-made pistols, six pistols and 22 live cartridges, along with equipment worth Rs 4,57,000. Among the arrested individuals, Punamchand Lodhi, a resident of Kodariya in Badgonda faces charges in connection with 15 serious offences including attempted murder and extortion.
Surjeet Bhatia, a known illegal arms manufacturer from Dhar, had three previous cases registered against him in Dhar and Indore. Under the directives of Indore rural IG Anurag Gupta and DIG Nimish Agarwal, alongside SP Singh and others intensified efforts to combat illegal arms trade in the region.
The swift action led by SDOP Ankit Soni saw the apprehension of Lodhi and the subsequent raid on Surjeet's premises, where an illegal weapons manufacturing setup was discovered. Both individuals were taken into custody, and a case under sections 25, 27, and 25 (1-AA) of the Arms Act was registered at the Manawar police station for further investigation.
