Uttarakhand STF arrests notorious arms dealer in Udham Singh Nagar

Police said that the accused had been smuggling illegal arms in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh for the last 20 years.

Dehradun:Taking action against illegal arms smugglers, the Special Task Force of the Uttarakhand Police has arrested a wanted arms dealer and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from his possession in Udham Singh Nagar district of the state, an official said on Saturday. It is learnt that the accused used to smuggle illegal weapons in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The arrested arms smuggler has been identified as Vachan Singh, a resident of village Khushhalpur under Gadarpur police station limits of Udham Singh Nagar district. An official said that the accused was arrested during a raid at his house by the Uttarakhand STF following specific intelligence inputs that a large consignment of weapons had arrived at Vachan Singh's house.

In the ensuing operation, the accused was arrested by the STF and taken into custody for further investigation. A large quantity of illegal weapons including two country-made shotguns and three pistols have been recovered from the accused. Sources said that the arms smuggler used to make illegal weapons along with his associates in the forest of Calcutta bordering Uttarakhand-UP for the last 20 years.

The arrested Vachan Singh told STF during interrogation that he has been smuggling weapons since 2003. He has been supplying illegal weapons to states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Punjab etc. The accused was caught five years ago with 22 cords and several semi-finished weapons. He and his companions have been making weapons in the Calcutta forest, which is located in Uttar Pradesh.

The weapons made by him are in great demand in Uttar Pradesh. Officials said that about 1000 illegal guns and pistols have been smuggled into Uttar Pradesh and its adjoining states. The STF team has registered a case against the arrested accused under the Arms Act in Gadarpur police station, Udhamsinghnagar district.

SSP STF Ayush Aggarwal said that the arrested arms dealer Vachan Singh was involved in the illegal arms business for many years. A case was registered against him for running an arms factory in Kelakheda police station in the year 2018. Apart from being a weapon supplier, he is also a weapons artisan, SSP said.

The STF team had been tracking the network for the last several days.