— ARRESTED ACCUSED WERE IN CONTACT WITH DUBAI AND USA BASED INDIVIDUALS: DGP GAURAV YADAV
— FOREIGN HANDLERS TASKED ARRESTED ACCUSED TO COLLECT ILLEGAL WEAPONS: IGP GURPREET BHULLAR
CHANDIGARH/GURDASPUR, October 1:
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 has dismantled an interstate arms-smuggling racket with the arrest of four individuals including three belonged to Uttrakhand, and recovered seven sophisticated pistols from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.
Those arrested have been identified as Lovepreet Singh (26), Lovepreet Singh (25) and Jashandeep Singh (25), all residents of Sitarganj in Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand; and Harjinder Singh (23), a resident of Lakhan Kalan in Kalanaur, Gurdaspur.
The recovered weapons include one Glock (Made in Austria), four .30 bore (Made in China) and two .30 bore pistols along with eight magazines. Apart from recovering weapons, police teams have also impounded their silver Maruti Swift car (UK 16 C 0040), which they were using for criminal activities.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused had alleged backward linkages with an individual based in Dubai and forward linkages with an individual based in the USA, who allegedly directed them to collect the illegal weapons.
Sharing operational details, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Border Range Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said Gurdaspur police had received a specific input that suspects identified as Lovepreet Singh, Lovepreet Singh, Jashandeep Singh and Harjinder Singh have retrieved a weapon consignment and are expected to deliver it to the other party.
He said that acting swiftly, police teams laid a nakabandi and arrested all the four accused persons, who were travelling in their car, after recovering seven illegal pistols along with eight magazines from their possession.
The IGP said that the operation was conducted under the supervision of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurdaspur Aditya. Further investigation is underway to uncover the complete network and establish the backward and forward linkages, he added.
In this regard, a case FIR no. 130 dated 1/10/2026 under section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Kalanaur in Gurdaspur.
