New Delhi, Aug 14 (PTI) Ahead of Independence Day, nine individuals, including suspected members of the Neeraj Bawana gang, were held in Delhi for flaunting illegal arms on social media and allegedly possessing a large cache of weapons, officials said on Thursday.
According to the police, on the intervening night of August 12 and 13, multiple teams, acting on a tip-off, zeroed in on the suspects who had allegedly been displaying firearms on social media.
The crackdown, based on patrolling inputs, led to the recovery of one semi-automatic pistol, 23 country-made pistols, and 28 cartridges from the accused, the official added.
“Ahead of Independence Day, we intensified our cyber monitoring to identify such criminals. Dedicated teams were deployed to track and apprehend them,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Hareshwar Swami said in a statement.
The officer further stated that three accused — Yameen alias Joni (28), Shri Ram alias Chotu (21), and Aaditya (19) — were caught from Shahbad Dairy, NIA, and Bhalswa Dairy areas. Nine country-made pistols, a semi-automatic pistol, and 15 live cartridges were recovered from them.
Two others — Aakash (21) and Amarjeet alias Happy (26) — were nabbed from Narela and Bawana, respectively. Five pistols and six live cartridges were seized from them.
In another set of operations, four men — Sonal Mishra (23), Momin Khan (25), Noor Hasan (26), and Anand alias Mitthu (36) — were arrested from Shahbad Dairy, JJ Colony in Bawana and Nathupura.
The police recovered a pistol and two cartridges from Mishra, a pistol and a cartridge each from Khan and Hasan, and a pistol with two cartridges from Mitthu.
Yameen alias Joni, with three previous involvements in robbery and hurt cases, is allegedly an associate of criminal Sanju Sehrawat and linked to the Neeraj Bawana gang.
While Shri Ram and Aaditya allegedly used to flaunt firearms on social media to instil fear, Aakash and Amarjeet, both from the Narela-Bawana belt, were allegedly active in illegal arms circulation, the police said.
Sonal Mishra has a prior record of 14 cases, including robbery, snatching, theft, and offences under the Arms Act, while Momin Khan has four past cases under the Arms Act and the NDPS Act.
Noor Hasan has a staggering 50 criminal cases to his name, the police mentioned, adding that Anand alias Mitthu also has a criminal history.
Further investigation is underway to trace the source of the weapons, the police stated. PTI BM BM MPL MPL
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