Madhya Pradesh ATS seizes 360 barrels from Surat in crackdown on illegal arms trade; 3 held

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], April 4 : The Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has claimed to have confiscated 360 barrels used in making pistols from Gujarat's Surat, along with the arrest of three persons for their alleged involvement in the illegal arms trade.
According to a release issued by MP ATS on Thursday, the seizure was made on the basis of information received during the interrogation of one of the three accused men arrested from Barwani district recently.
The arrested accused has been identified as Sarnam Singh (32), a resident of Dhawadi village, Sendhwa tehsil, in Barwani district.
"During initial interrogation, the accused said that he temporarily stays in Prabhu Nagar area of Surat and supplies raw material and barrels used in the manufacturing of illegal weapons to Madhya Pradesh. On his tip, ATS formed a team, raided the spot in Surat and seized 360 barrels," the ATS said in its statement.
The action comes after a major crackdown on illegal firearms manufacturing unit in Khargone.
Officials said that accused Sarnam Singh was arrested from Sendhwa based on inputs received from the two accused arrested last month from Khargone and Khandwa district.
"Based on the tip off from the informer, the ATS had arrested Rahul Yadav, a resident of Khargone district from Khandwa and Gurubakht Singh, a resident of Singur in Khargone from Khargone itself, last month," the ATS said.
"On the information of both the accused, On March 19, MP ATS raided a factory running at Signur in Khargone district and confiscated a huge number of barrels and raw materials used in making pistols. In the investigation, it also came to light that Gurubakht received over 500 barrels every month from Surat in Gujarat," it said.
Further investigation into the matter is going on, it added.