AK-47 smuggling: Munger police detain Patna cop

PATNA: A Patna police constable has been detained by the Munger police on the suspicion of his involvement in alleged smuggling of AK-47 assault rifles from the Central Ordnance Depot (COD) in Jabalpur.
Munger SP Baburam told TOI over the phone on Thursday constable Dharmaveer Kumar (32) of the New Police Lines at Lodipur in Patna was detained on November 20 night.“He was brought to Munger for quizzing after his name cropped up during interrogation of one of the arrested arms smugglers, Mohd Rizwan,” he said.
According to the SP, Rizwan had purchased one AK-47 rifle from Mohd Shamsher in 2014 which was allegedly sold off with the help of constable Kumar.
“Shamsher has confessed to selling one assault rifle to Rizwan for Rs 4.5 lakh. Rizwan has also been arrested and he has also confessed to selling the weapon for Rs 5 lakh to another criminal in the presence of constable Kumar,” the Munger SP said.
Police are trying to catch the person to whom Rizwan sold the assault rifle. “The purchaser hails from Munger and has criminal antecedents. Once he is in our net, the constable’s role would become clear. We will then decide whether or not the constable has to be arrested,” the SP said.
At least 20 AK-47 assault rifles and 500-odd spare parts of such rifles, all smuggled from Jabalpur COD, have been recovered in Munger since August 29. The National Investigation Agency is also investigating the case in view of its sensitivity and wider ramifications.
Altogether six FIRs have been lodged in Munger and at least 25 arms smugglers arrested in connection with the smuggling case. The arrested persons include COD storekeeper Suresh Thakur, retired Indian Army armourer Purushottam Rajak, his wife Chadrawati Devi and son Shivendra Rajak. These four were arrested in Jabalpur and brought to Munger.