3 held for buying guns using fake UP arms licences

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Police’s Special Task Force (STF) arrested three men late for allegedly purchasing firearms from a licensed gun house in Kashipur, Udham Singh Nagar district, using forged arms licences issued in UP’s Shahjahanpur district.

The arrests on Thursday night followed a month-long covert investigation into 10 Shahjahanpur licences that were used to buy weapons in Kashipur, officials said on Friday.

STF SSP Ajai Singh said police seized three semi-automatic pistols and 65 live cartridges from Naishad Hussain, Azim Pehelwan and Jatin Kandpal.

“During investigation, we verified 10 licences and related documents submitted by the accused to the gun house,” Singh said.

He said all the licences were found fake during verification with the authorities in Shahjahanpur. Following the findings, an FIR was registered under relevant sections of the BNS.

“All the licences turned out to be forged. The investigation is underway to identify others involved, and those who purchased weapons using fake documents are being asked to surrender them,” Singh said.

STF is also examining hundreds of gun licences issued in other states that were used to purchase firearms in Uttarakhand after the holders claimed to have moved their residence to the state.