MUMBAI: The Mumbai police’s crime branch has arrested five men from a hotel in Andheri West for allegedly possessing seven unlicensed country-made pistols and 21 live rounds. As two of the arrested accused hail from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, the police suspect they could have links with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, and are ascertaining why they were in Mumbai with arms and ammunition, officials said.
At least two of the five arrested men have a criminal past, with cases registered against them in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana for attempt to murder and possession of unlicensed arms, officials added.
The arrested accused were identified as Vikash Dinesh Thakur, 24; Sumeet Kumar Dilawar, 26; Devendra Rupesh Saxena, 24; Shreyas Suresh Yadav, 27; and Vivek Kumar Gupta, 22. Dilawar is from Haryana, Thakur is from UP, while Saxena, Yadav, and Gupta are from Madhya Pradesh.
During their interrogation, the police learnt that Dilawar has at least 10 cases registered against him, including attempt to murder and possession of weapons. Thakur has one criminal case registered against him, while Saxena, Yadav and Kumar don’t have a criminal past. All five accused were produced before a magistrate court, which remanded them to police custody till April 7.
The crime branch had received information in the second week of February that a gangster had directed some men to kill a businessman from Mumbai. Following two serious incidents of firing in Bandra last year—the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique in October and the shooting outside actor Salman Khan’s residence in April—the police took the matter seriously and started investigating.
Last week, the police learnt that a few gang members had arrived in the city with weapons and live rounds. They later learnt the men were staying at a hotel in DN Nagar, Andheri West. Based on the information, a team comprising officers from the Mumbai police’s anti-extortion cell, the Crime Intelligence Unit, and Unit 3 of the crime branch raided their hotel room and took the five men into custody. During the raid, the police found seven country-made pistols and 21 live rounds on them, officials said.
An FIR was registered against the five men at the DN Nagar police station on Saturday, with the accused being booked under the Arms Act for the alleged possession of unlicensed arms and ammunition.
“The accused are not cooperating in the investigation, and we are questioning them to find out whether they came here to sell the weapons or had planned to use the same to commit some crime in the city,” said a crime branch officer, who requested anonymity as they aren’t authorised to speak to the media.
The crime branch has contacted senior police officers in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to access their past criminal records and determine whether they are connected to any gang, the officer added.
Because of their Haryana and UP connections, the police are ascertaining whether the arrested accused are associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which has been linked to several high-profile criminal cases in Mumbai, including the murder of Siddique and the firing at Khan’s house last year.