Insta post leads cops to illegal pistols in Kutch

Rajkot: Acting on a social media tip-off, the state monitoring cell (SMC) arrested two young men and seized illegal firearms worth over Rs 3 lakh from an office near Nana Kopaya village in Mundra taluka of Kutch, exposing an alleged gun-running racket stretching to Rajasthan.

The SMC arrested Ramesh Gadhvi, 21, of Mundra, and Kishan Koli, 26, of Barmer, and seized two country made pistols, 14 cartridges, two empty magazines and three phones from an office along the highway near Nana Kopaya.

An FIR was registered at the State Monitoring Cell police station in Gandhinagar against the Gadhvi, Koli and one Dhanrajram Chaudhary, a resident of Barmer.

PI S M Jadeja of the SMC said the action followed specific intelligence during routine patrolling. “We received information that Kishan Koli had posted a photograph with a weapon on Instagram. On discreet verification, we learned that Ramesh Gadhvi was at an office near Nana Kopaya village with that weapon,” he said.

The team went to the spot and detained Gadhvi. A search of the office led to the recovery of the firarms and ammunition.

Gadhvi said he had known Koli for a decade and had met Chaudhary at Koli’s ice cream shop. “As our acquaintance grew, I asked him to bring me a pistol,” he said, adding that Koli needed money and the two discussed selling pistols. He claimed the firearms were bought from Chaudhary about two-and-a-half years ago for Rs 50,000.

“I am fond of pistols, but I did not use them anywhere,” Gadhvi said, adding that he kept them in a drawer at his office while he was away in Thailand.

Koli told investigators that Gadhvi was a regular at his ice cream shop about 10 years ago, where they became acquainted. “As I needed money, Gadhvi told me he had a contact, Dhanrajram Chaudhary, who was in the business of selling pistols,” he said. Koli admitted that about one-and-a-half years ago he took a pistol from Gadhvi to take photographs, which he later posted on Instagram. The images went viral.

Police inquiries found Koli works for a private firm, while Gadhvi is a student. Further investigation is underway to trace the source and possible links of the illegal arms.