Jaipur: Dholpur police arrested an alleged interstate arms smuggler Sunday and seized five illegal firearms and 38 live cartridges from his bag as he travelled by bus from Gwalior to Karauli.The accused, Aditya Singh Thakur (36), a resident of Morena district in Madhya Pradesh, was allegedly supplying weapons in Gwalior for Rs 2,000-3,000 per delivery.Police said he had dropped out of a BTech course at MITS College in Gwalior and later worked in the Malanpur industrial area before allegedly turning to motorcycle theft and arms trafficking.Police said a team led by the Sarmathura SHO was patrolling near Kharair bridge during an area-domination drive ahead of panchayat elections when a constable received a tip-off that a passenger on a bus from Gwalior was carrying weapons in a red bag.Police stopped the bus near Basantpura turn. Thakur jumped off with the bag and tried to flee towards Basantpura link road, but a constable chased and caught him.A search of the bag yielded two .32-bore pistols with two magazines, two country-made .315-bore firearms and a shortened .315-bore firearm. Police also recovered 18 .32-bore cartridges and 20 .315-bore cartridges. Thakur could not produce a licence or permit for the weapons. One of the pistols bore the marking “Made in Japan”.Police said several cases were registered against him at Bahodapur, Morar, Padav, Janakganj and Jhansi Road police stations in Gwalior. He had allegedly become addicted to smack and alcohol before leaving his engineering course and later taking up arms trafficking, police said.Police have registered a case under the Arms Act and for organised crime. They are questioning Thakur to identify others involved in the alleged smuggling network.
