16 Firearms, 20 Live Cartridges: MP Man Among 5 Arrested in Saurashtra Arms Racket
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
A major racket involving the supply of country-made weapons from Madhya Pradesh to Saurashtra has come to light after Rajkot Police’s Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB) arrested five accused, including the alleged kingpin from Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district.
Police seized 16 firearms and 30 live cartridges from the accused.
Dhar resident Shakil Mansuri identified as key accused
The alleged mastermind has been identified as Shakil Sadiq Mansuri (38), a resident of Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh. Acting on a tip-off, PCB officials M.R. Gondaliya and PSI R K Jadeja apprehended Shakil and Jaysukh alias Jeso Vallabh Vaghela (35), a resident of Bogharavadar village, near Kuwadva.
The duo was found in possession of five firearms and 20 live cartridges.
Three more accused arrested
Based on the confession of the two accused, police later arrested three more suspects from Chotila: Gavaskar alias Darshan Chandramaulik alias Anil Rozasara (32), Anil Virabhai Khetriya (30) and Pradip Ankabhai Karpada (32).
Police said the gang had been involved in the illegal sale of firearms across Saurashtra.
Weapons smuggled from Madhya Pradesh
According to investigators, the accused allegedly procured country-made weapons from Madhya Pradesh at low prices and supplied them across the Saurashtra region.
The PCB seized a total of 16 firearms and 30 cartridges during the operation.
Accused linked to another arms case
The names of Shakil and Jaysukh had also surfaced during the interrogation of Mahesh Khachar, who was arrested by Rajkot Rural Special Operations Group (SOG) from Atkot with two country-made pistols on Sunday.
Sources said Mahesh allegedly surrendered before the SOG after learning about the arrest of Shakil and Jaysukh. However, the SOG has maintained that Mahesh was arrested based on specific intelligence inputs.
