Fake arms licence racket busted, 12 held

Seven out of the arrested persons were armed security personnel hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.

Sleuths of Commissioner's Task Force (North Zone) raided the two security agencies and apprehended 12 persons including Kamble Parikshit and Santosh Kumar (belonging to Andhra Pradesh) and seized eleven illegal 12 bore weapons and fake licences from them, police said.

One Mithilesh Kumar Jha, a security guard from Bihar, allegedly doctored the licenses by using fake rubber stamps of officials of different government departments and supplied them to other accused, they said.

According to police, the heads of both the security agencies were recruiting armed security guards who are in possession of fake arm licenses and illegal weapons, apparently for monetary gains.

Police said job-seekers would purchase DBBL or SBBL guns from authorised and unauthorised dealers in UP and Bihar on fake licenses and seek employment as security guards in Andhra Pradesh.

Unarmed security guards are offered a salary of Rs 6,000 whereas armed security personnel are offered Rs 12 to 15,000 per month, according to a release from the Hyderabad Police Commissionerate.