— RECOVERED WEAPONS WERE SMUGGLED FROM ACROSS THE BORDER VIA DRONES, SAYS DGP GAURAV YADAV
— GANGSTER BURI BASANTKOTIA FACING 26 FIRs PERTAINING TO MURDER, ARMS ACT, NDPS ACT: SSP GURDASPUR ADITYA
CHANDIGARH/GURDASPUR, September 13:
In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Gurdaspur Police, in coordination with a central agency, has foiled a cross-border arms smuggling module with the arrest of five individuals after hot chase and recovered six pistols including one 9MM Beretta and one 9MM glock along with 49 live cartridges from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Sunday.
Those arrested have been identified as Sukhwinder Singh alias Sukha, a resident of Aluna in Gurdaspur; Karan Kumar, a resident of Bhaupur Afgana in Gurdaspur; Balraj Singh alias Buri, a resident of Basantkot in Gurdaspur; Amrik Singh alias Sonu, a resident of Joriya Kalan in Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur; and Manjinder Singh alias Mangu, a resident of Upal in Gurdaspur. Apart from recovering weapons, police teams have also impounded their Mahindra Scorpio car, bearing registration number PB 06 BP 3908.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the consignment of weapons and ammunition was smuggled from across the border through drones. Further investigation is underway to uncover the backward and forward linkages of the network to identify other persons involved in the cross-border arms smuggling module, he said.
Sharing operational details, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurdaspur Aditya said that on the reliable inputs, police personnel of Special Branch Gurdaspur, Police Station Dorangla, and Police Station Behrampur, spotted a Mahindra Scorpio parked at the intersection of Village Nurpur Theh, wherein two individuals were sitting outside the vehicle, while three were sitting inside the vehicle.
On seeing the police party, the driver swiftly sped away in the vehicle, he said, while adding that the police party promptly intercepted and apprehended the two individuals present at the spot.
The SSP said that the police party gave a hot chase to the Scorpio car and successfully intercepted it in the area of Police Station Kalanaur leading to the arrest of Gangster Balraj Singh alias Buri Basantkotia, along his two associates. A total of six pistols along with magazines and 49 live cartridges were recovered from the accused persons, he said.
SSP Aditya said that arrested accused Balraj alias Buri Basantkotia is a notorious criminal and has a criminal history involving 26 FIRs pertaining to murder, attempt to murder, Arms Act and NDPS Act offences registered against him. Further investigations are on, he added.
In this regard, a case FIR no. 96 dated 13.09.2026 under sections 25(8) and 27 of the Arms Act has been registered at Police Station Dorangla.
