Bhubaneswar: In a significant crackdown on illegal arms trafficking, the Commissionerate Police have thwarted a major plot to distribute automatic pistols and revolvers in the Capital city to boost crimes such as theft, robbery, extortion, loot, and violence.
The operation, executed by the Air Field Police Station under Bhubaneswar UPD, culminated in a surprise raid in Jatani Gate Bazar area and arrested five individuals with seizure of a substantial cache of illegal firearms.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Praveen Kumar Singh (40), son of Jayamurti Singh, from Ratsar village, Ballia district, Uttar Pradesh, Abhishek Rajput (31), son of Keshav Singh, from Ratsar village, Bahadurpur area, Uttar Pradesh, Indrajit Singh (38), son of Paras Nath Singh, from Meuli village, Pakadi area, Kanaspur, Uttar Pradesh, Raghavendra Singh (28), son of Yashmant Singh, from Patlohari village, Barase area, Bhind district, Madhya Pradesh and SK Sakil (28), son of SK Abdul Qudus, from Fogal village, under Salepur police station, Cuttack district.
Acting on intelligence inputs, the police learned of an interstate arms trafficking network smuggling firearms from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar into Odisha for distribution to criminals. The raid targeted a suspicious vehicle (Reg. GJ-27-DM-5196) in Pokhariput, where the accused were apprehended while attempting to sell the weapons. The police seized four 7.65mm semi-automatic pistols, one six-round revolver, one single-shot firearm,18 rounds of live ammunition, a vehicle, five mobile phones.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Praveen Kumar Singh, who had been residing in the Jatani Gate area of Bhubaneswar for the past two months, was a professional arms dealer orchestrating the smuggling operation. His close associates—Abhishek Rajput, Indrajit Singh, and Raghavendra Singh—played key roles in the distribution network, while SK Sakil, identified as the mastermind, facilitated connections with local criminals. The gang was actively discussing potential buyers and locations to sell the illegal firearms at the time of their arrest.
Police Commissioner Dr. S. Dev Datta Singh addressing the media in the presence of Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena, IPS, described the operation as a “significant breakthrough” in curbing illegal arms trafficking.
“Our team acted swiftly on specific intelligence, dismantling a dangerous arms trafficking network that posed a serious threat to public safety,” Dr. Singh stated. “We are verifying the criminal antecedents of the accused and investigating their supply routes to prevent further proliferation of illegal arms in Odisha,” he added.
