Inter-state arms racket busted: 23-year-old food delivery man found delivering 10 illegal pistols in UP; six others under watch

AGRA: A 23-year-old man, working in Haryana for a popular food delivery platform, was arrested by UP police with at least 10 illegal country-made pistols and dozens of bullets hidden in a delivery bag in Muzaffarnagar on Friday. The man, identified as Sudhanshu Kumar, hails from Meerut and had been allegedly supplying illegal weapons in Delhi, UP, Haryana and Punjab. He was intercepted in Ramraj area, following a tip-off.Muzaffarnagar SSP Sanjay Kumar Verma said the accused was en route to deliver the weapons when police laid a trap and apprehended him. During interrogation, he revealed the involvement of six others in an illegal arms smuggling racket. Acting on this information, police have set up a special team to identify and arrest the rest of the gang members.SSP Verma added: "During the search operation, 10 country-made pistols of .315 bore, several cartridges and a motorcycle were recovered from his possession. Kumar told us that he works as a delivery boy in Karnal for a famous food delivery platform. But we found that he has a criminal history spanning five years. Action is being taken against him under the Arms Act, and steps are underway to send him to jail."Six of the accused's associates have also been declared "wanted" in this case, and efforts are on to trace and arrest them, the officer further said.Police said that the gang had been supplying weapons in various parts of the country, especially in Meerut, where there is "significant demand".