Ahmedabad rural court rejects bail pleas of 26 accused in fake gun license scam

The Ahmedabad Rural Court rejected the bail applications of 26 accused on Saturday, including key individuals Mukesh Bambha and Arjun Algotar. 

The case, which involves bogus weapon licenses obtained from Manipur and Nagaland, has so far seen the arrest of 66 accused by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

An Ahmedabad court, led by Principal District Judge K M Sojitra, noted that the accused were involved in a criminal conspiracy, acting in collusion and driven by financial motives to procure illegal arms licenses and weapons.

Government prosecutor Praveen Trivedi argued that the accused exploited lenient licensing norms in northeastern states, particularly Manipur and Nagaland, to build a black-market network. 

He added that 41 out of the 66 accused have prior charges including attempted murder, kidnapping, rape, assault, and attacks on law enforcement.

Highlighting the seriousness of the offences, the court stated that releasing the accused on bail could undermine the investigation and public safety. Accepting the state’s arguments, the court rejected the bail applications of all 26 accused.

What’s the case?

Preliminary investigation revealed that these individuals acquired All India Permits for weapons through agents operating in Manipur and Nagaland. 

The accused obtained licenses from these states despite having a low likelihood of being granted licenses in Gujarat due to previous criminal records or ineligibility.