Amritsar , 03 September (H.S.): Amritsar Commissionerate Police has busted an illegal arms supply network with the arrest of two individuals and recovered eight illegal .30 bore pistols along with 103 live cartridges from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.

Those arrested have been identified as Ranjit Singh alias Jeeta (24), a resident of village Bainka in Tarn Taran and Gurbir Singh alias Gora (32), a resident of village Tara Singh in Tarn Taran. Accused Ranjit alias Jeeta has a criminal history with cases under the Arms Act, NDPS Act and Explosives Act registered against him.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were allegedly in contact with foreign-based smugglers through social media applications. Both the arrested accused were receiving and supplying consignments of illegal foreign-made arms to criminal elements in the state, he said.

The DGP said that further investigation is underway to establish backward and forward linkages in this case to verify the cross-border connections, and identify all persons associated with the illegal arms supply network.

Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Harmanbir Singh Gill said that acting on secret information, police laid a naka Near Gurudwara Bohri Sahib road and arrested Ranjit Singh alias Jeeta and one .30 bore pistol along with three live cartridges were recovered from his possession. During further investigation, four more .30 bore pistols and 100 live cartridges were recovered from his possession, he said.

The CP said that during further questioning of Ranjit alias Jeeta, his associate identified as Gurbir alias Gora was identified and arrested. Police recovered three .30 bore pistols from his possession, he said, while adding that probe has revealed that accused Gurbir alias Gora had returned from Dubai about six months ago.

In this regard, a case has been registered at Police Station Islamabad in Amritsar.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH