Bhayandar: As counting was underway in the country for the Lok Sabha polls, a team from the Navghar police station of the Thane (rural) police was busy chasing two men who were later found to be in possession of seven country-made pistols and two live bullets in Bhayandar on Thursday afternoon.
Identified as Rahul Kanhaiyalal Malviya (19) and Iswar Ramesh Kumar (19) both the accused who are natives of Susner village near Nalkheda in Madhya Pradesh, are suspected to be key members of an interstate arms dealer gang.
Acting on a tip-off, a team led by Senior Police Inspector Ram Bhalsingh under the instructions of SP Dr Shivaji Rathod and SDPO Atul Kuklarni laid a trap and apprehended the suspects from Bunderwadi junction located near the Bhayandar railway station at around 1 pm on Thursday.
“The duo tried to flee but our team chased them down. On frisking, they found seven country-made pistols and two live bullets valued at more than Rs 1.75 lakh in their bag,” said PSI Vijay Takke. Not ruling out more arrests in the case, Kulkarni said, “Prima facie it appears that the duo are criminals in records of Madhya Pradesh police, however in-depth investigations are on to ascertain the origin and destination of the firearms.”
Meanwhile a case under the relevant sections of the Indian Arms Act has been registered against the duo who have been remanded to custody after they were produced before the District Sessions Court, Thane on Friday. The Navghar police is conducting further investigations into the case.
