Dehradun, Jul 24 (PTI) Amid the ongoing panchayat elections in Uttarakhand, the state STF has arrested a member of a suspected inter-state arms smuggling gang with eight illegal automatic pistols and magazines.

The accused has been identified as Khajan Singh (24). He was arrested in Rudrapur city of Udham Singh Nagar district late on Wednesday night, Uttarakhand STF said.

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Senior Superintendent of Police (STF) Navneet Singh Bhullar stated that Khajan Singh was apprehended when the arms consignment was being transported here for distribution to other areas.

Five pistols of 0.32 bore, three pistols of 0.30 bore and magazines were recovered in the joint operation by the Kumaon unit of the STF and the Rudrapur police.

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Khajan Singh, a resident of Baghwala in Rudrapur, was arrested earlier too, in a case of robbery and smuggling of illegal weapons.

Bhullar said that during the interrogation, he revealed information about four other members of a suspected inter-state gang, believed to have links from Madhya Pradesh to Uttarakhand.

According to the SSP, the accused said that he and his associates have been getting weapons from Sartaj, a suspected smuggler of illegal weapons from Burhanpur district in Madhya Pradesh, for the last few years.

Bhullar said that given the Panchayat elections are being held, a campaign is underway against gangsters and to confiscate illegal weapons.

As part of the drive, the STF has arrested four accused with 15 illegal pistols and live cartridges in three cases in July itself.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)