Rattled by a series of crimes, the Puri police have launched a crackdown on the illegal firearms trade in the holy town and on Saturday arrested seven persons on the charges of possessing illegal weapons.
The accused were identified as Ratikanta Parida, Bikram Panda, Ashok Sahu, Rudra Prasad Rout, Harishchandra Prusty, Lokanath Das and Ranjit Kumar Mohanty.
Police recovered four country-made pistols including 9mm and 7mm bores, live ammunition, an iron rod and a motorcycle from the arrestees possession.
Puri SP Kanwar Vishal Singh said, "We have arrested seven anti-socials and recovered four firearms from their possession. The accused have several cases pending against them."
“As many as 16 firearms have been seized from Puri so far this year. The drive against possession and use of illegal arms will continue in the future. We are hopeful to identify and nab the source of inter-district illegal weapons racket soon." Singh added.
Police busted the racket while investigating the murder case of Shivaram Patra, who had been shot dead near Emar Mutt in Puri on Tuesday night. Police detained the main accused in the murder case identified as Chandan Barik.