— ARRESTED ACCUSED WERE IN CONTACT WITH A PAK-BASED HANDLER AND SUPPLYING ILLEGAL WEAPONS ACROSS PUNJAB: DGP GAURAV YADAV
— FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS ARE ON; MORE ARRESTS AND RECOVERIES ARE LIKELY IN COMING DAYS: CP ASR GURPREET BHULLAR
CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, October 31:
In a major intelligence-led operation amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Commissionerate Police has dismantled a cross-border arms smuggling module linked to Pakistan based-smugglers with the arrest of its seven operatives including a juvenile and recovered 15 sophisticated pistols from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Friday.
Those arrested have been identified as Shamsher Singh alias Sima (30) and Amandeep Singh alias Bobby (23), both residents of Fakir Singh Colony in Amritsar; Balwinder Singh alias Kaka (26), Gurdev Singh (40), Karanpreet Singh (19) and Harman Singh (19), all residents of village Kakkar in Amritsar Rural; and one 17-years-old juvenile. The recovered weapons include nine 9MM Glock Pistols and six .30 bore Pistols.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused were in contact with a Pak-based handler through social media and were actively involved in procuring and supplying illegal weapons across Punjab.
The DGP said that further investigation is underway to expose and dismantle the entire network, including its backward and forward linkages.
Sharing more details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that a juvenile, who was in contact with Pakistan-based handlers and was picking up consignments due to his village’s close proximity to the international border to further deliver within Punjab, was first arrested with two pistols.
Based on the juvenile’s interrogation, Shamsher Singh and Amandeep Singh were arrested with three pistols including one glock, he said, while adding that the duo were assisting the juvenile in delivering weapons. Following technical and forensic leads, accused Balwinder Singh was arrested with two Glock pistols and one .30 bore pistol
The CP said that during technical analysis of the juvenile’s mobile phone, the role of Gurdev Singh also surfaced with both found to be in each other’s contacts and connected to a common Pakistan-based handler through various social media platforms. On the handler’s directions, they distributed weapons through their local associates, he said.
He said that during the subsequent investigation, the main operative of this node, Gurdev Singh, was arrested along with Karanpreet Singh and Harman Singh and a total of six Glock pistols and one .30 bore pistol were recovered from Gurdev’s possession. More arrests and recoveries are likely in coming days as further investigation is being carried out, he said.
In this regard, two separate cases— FIR No. 224 dated 23.10.2025 and FIR No. 228 dated 28.10.2025— have been registered under section 25(6,7,8) of the Arms Act at Police Station Cantonment in Amritsar.
