Suspecting that the gun-manufacturing unit which was busted by it at Jankia three days ago was providing arms to Maoists, the Commissionerate Police have started investigation from this angle too, sources said.
The city police is likely to take the owner of the manufacturing unit Babuli Moharana, his associate Adhikari Moharana and two gun peddlars, Sanatan Baliarsingh and Ranendra Prasad Das, who were remanded to judicial custody by a local court on Sunday, on remand for further interrogation on Tuesday. Babuli and Adhikari were supplying guns to the prawn and timber mafia. Besides, police also suspect their link with the Maoists.
Sources in the locality said some Maoists from Ranpur and Daspalla areas had a secret arms deal with Babuli. According to police, the mini gun-manufacturing unit was in operation inside a small thatched house since 20 years. During the period, Babuli was having his gun trade mostly in the coastal areas like Puri, Brahmagiri, Astarang, Ganjam, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Paradip and Bhubaneswar.
Besides, he also has a sizeable number of customers in Daspalla, Ranpur and Athagarh. The names of some influential persons have also figured as his alleged clients.
While the timber mafia of Ranpur and Daspalla used to purchase country-made pistols from Babuli, the prawn mafia of Chilika area had also purchased pistols from him.