Amritsar: 2 arms smugglers arrested, 7 pistols seized

Punjab: The Amritsar Commissionerate Police has busted a Pakistan-based arms smuggling module. Two individuals were arrested and seven advanced pistols were seized from them. Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said on Monday that the seized pistols include three PX5 and four .30-bore pistols. Those arrested include Balwinder Singh (32) of Bhindi Nain village and Jugraj Singh alias Jagga (29) of Mulla Behram village. Police said Jugraj has a history of involvement in several serious crimes, including murder. He also has cases registered against him under the Arms Act and the NDPS Act. Bhullar said that preliminary investigations revealed that the two accused were working at the behest of a handler from Pakistan, who communicated with them through social media calls.
The handler allegedly provided them with pickup locations and delivery routes to circulate illegal weapons within Punjab. The Police Commissioner stated that the operation was launched following specific intelligence input. During a checkpoint in the Cantonment area, police stopped Balwinder Singh and seized five pistols from him. His interrogation led the police team to Jugraj Singh, from whom two more .30-bore pistols were seized. The CP stated that both suspects lived near the international border, facilitating the movement and distribution of smuggled weapons. Preliminary investigations revealed that both were active in the Amritsar (Rural) belt and played a key role in maintaining the cross-border supply chain. A case has been registered at the Amritsar (Cantonment) police station under various sections of the Arms Act. He added that further investigations are underway to identify the module’s forward and backward linkages.