Arms making unit busted in Odisha; two arrested

Reported by Santosh Jagdev
Bhubaneswar, May 16:

In a major breakthrough, the commissionerate police today busted an illegal fire arm manufacturing unit situated at Panichhatra village under Jankia police limits of Khorda district in Odisha and seized fire arms, ammunitions and raw materials used in manufacturing these weapons.

During a surprise raid, the Quick Action Team (QAT) of the commissionerate police also nabbed the owner of the manufacturing unit identified as Babuli Moharana and his associate Adhikari Moharana.

Briefing newsmen about the raid at the commissionerate police headquarters office here this afternoon, Twin city Commissioner of Police (CP) Dr R P Sharma said the raid was planned after Inspector-in-charge (IIC) of the Tamando police station Kishore Chandra Mund and his staff, during routine evening patrol, got reliable information from sources that two persons carrying illegal arms and ammunition had been moving about suspiciously in a blue colour Pulsar motorcycle near the Tata housing chhak situated on the Kalinga Vihar-Ghatikia road.

Seeing police, the two attempted to escape but police managed to apprehend both of them. On being asked, the accused disclosed their names and identity as Sanatan Baliarsingh (24) and Ranendra Pratap Das (18), both of Andharua village under Chandaka police station. The accused confessed to have come to the area to commit a crime. During search, police team seized one 7.65 mm semi-automatic pistol with three rounds of live ammunition and one country made revolver with five rounds of live ammunition from the possession of Sanatan and Ranendra respectively, the commissioner said.

The accused could not produce any license or documents in support of the fire arms and ammunition. On further interrogation, they confessed that they hade procured the fire arms from the illegal manufacturing unit run by Babuli in one of his houses.

The articles seized during the operation are: one 7.65 mm pistol, three country made revolvers, one country made single shot pistol, three half-constructed revolvers and 36 rounds of live ammunition. Besides, fire-arm manufacturing implements like iron press, bhati, six triangular round philes, 3 rough philes, four grinding stones, three iron pipes, 33 iron brushes, two screw drivers, two cutter blades, two hammers, four tongues and a wrench were also seized during the raid.

Babuli, who was earlier arrested by Khordha police for selling illegal fire-arms, had been running the manufacturing unit since 1990. He used to sell single shot guns for Rs 5000-Rs 7000 and six-shot revolvers at Rs 10,000 to local goons in the Khordha district.

“Investigation is on to verify how many pieces of illegal arms have been manufactured and sold since the inception of the manufacturing unit and the antecedents of the accused. If necessary, we can take Babuli and his associate in remand for further interrogation in the case,” Dr Sharma said.