Jammu: Police have busted an inter-state narcotics and illegal arms syndicate, arresting 10 persons, including key members of the Gataru gang, in coordinated operations across Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, an official said on Friday.
The arrests by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) followed an investigation into an FIR recently registered at Police Station Vijaypur in Samba district under relevant provisions of the NDPS Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Arms Act, a police spokesperson said.
During the operation, police recovered five pistols, one country-made weapon, 27.66 grams of heroin, 17 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 23 grams of gunpowder, 113 pellets and four pellet caps, he said.
Financial investigation exposes systematic money movement, including transactions exceeding Rs 1 crore between gang leaders and among the members.
Those arrested include Sourav Gupta and his brother Gourav Gupta, both residents of Vijaypur, who were allegedly heading the notorious Gataru gang, which is active in Jammu, the spokesperson said.
Describing it as a “major breakthrough” against organised criminal networks, the spokesperson said a police party arrested a Gataru gang member, Sourab Baloria, along with 9.08 grams of heroin and a pistol during routine checking of vehicles at Vijaypur on August 22.
Accordingly, a case was registered and a SIT was constituted for a thorough probe, he said, adding that the investigation revealed that Baloria was allegedly functioning as an important logistical facilitator for the gang’s activities in Samba district.
He said the investigation further brought to light the alleged role of Vivek Kumar, a resident of Bihar who was presently residing at Vijaypur and working at a fast food outlet. He was subsequently arrested.
As per the material facts collected during the investigation, including technical traces, the premises of the outlet were being utilised for providing temporary shelter to associates of the Gataru gang, besides facilitating certain financial transactions, the spokesperson said.
He said the involvement of Punjab-based associates, Manmohit Singh, Sahib Singh, Vikram Bhardwaj alias Vicky Star and Jagdeep Kaur — all residents of Amritsar — came to light, allegedly facilitating procurement, movement and supply of narcotics and illegal weapons and providing logistical and financial support to members of the network. They were also arrested.
Police effected another significant recovery, including two country-made pistols, five live cartridges and 8.37 grams of heroin-like substance from accused Vivek Kumar, the spokesperson said.
Following sustained technical analysis coupled with human intelligence, the SIT, with the assistance of UP Police, traced and arrested Sourav Gupta, his brother Gourav Gupta and their associate Rohit Baloria from Meerut, the spokesperson said.
He said the investigation revealed that the accused were allegedly taking shelter at the residence of Mohd Maaz, who allegedly facilitated their stay and provided logistical support to this gang and was also arrested.
The spokesperson said two more pistols, 12 rounds, one country-made weapon, 23 grams of gunpowder, 113 pellets, four pellet caps and 10.21 grams of heroin were recovered from the backside of AIIMS Vijaypur at the disclosure of the Gupta brothers and Rohit Baloria.
Further investigation has revealed leads regarding the alleged procurement of weapons through intermediaries connected with the Punjab-Haryana-based Ghanashyampuria gang, he said.
He said the investigation is being pursued on multiple fronts with the objective of identifying every individual involved in the alleged criminal network and dismantling its operational and financial infrastructure.
