Country-made pistols seized in Khargone district of MP, 2 held

Two Aligarh-based men were arrested and 30 country-made pistols seized from their possession today, police said.
Dharmendra Jat (26) and Kapil Jat (23), residents of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, were travelling by a bus when they were arrested in Balwada area following a tip-off, Khargone District Superintendent of Police, Amit Singh, said.
The duo told police that they were going to deliver the consignment to an alleged illegal arms dealer named Rinku Gupta at Allahabad in UP, he added.
Nadan Singh Sikligar, a local resident who allegedly sold the arms to the Jats managed to escape and the police were looking for him, the SP said.

Local police have been on their toes off late, as a spurt in arms-smuggling is expected ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh slated early next year.
In the last two years, Khargone police have seized 300 country-made pistols in various cases, Singh added.

Police would also take the help of their counterparts in Maharashtra and UP to crack down on illegal arms trade, he said.
Arms manufacturing is a traditional business of a certain community based in Khargone, Dhar, Barwani and Burhanpur districts.
These illegally made arms, such as revolvers, are in great demand in neighbouring Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, police said.