Inter-state arms gang busted in Chhattisgarh; four held with country-made pistol, cash

Mahasamund (Chhattisgarh), Aug 10 (IANS) Mahasamund Police achieved a major success by intercepting and arresting an armed inter-state gang before it could carry out its plans. Four accused from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were caught late on the night of August 9-10, 2026, at the Palsapali barrier under Basna police station limits.

A police team from Basna was conducting intensive vehicle checking and patrolling at the barrier when they stopped a white Maruti Suzuki Victoris car without a registration number. The vehicle was coming from the Odisha side and carried a temporary yellow TC plate numbered MP07/C0011/TC. Four men were travelling in the car and their behaviour aroused suspicion.

During the search, police recovered one country-made .315 bore pistol and three live cartridges from near the dashboard and seats. A bag inside the car yielded Rs 3.25 lakh in cash. Four mobile phones were also seized from the accused. The car and other items took the total value of the recovered property to approximately Rs 19.25 lakh.

Questioning revealed that the four men had jointly planned to purchase ganja from Balangir in Odisha. They were carrying the illegal firearm to overcome any resistance from police or others and were prepared to use it. Unable to establish contact with their supplier, they were returning with the cash when they were intercepted.

The arrested persons have been identified as Umashankar Sharma (41) of Deori village, Mehgaon police station, Bhind district, Madhya Pradesh; Akash Kakkar Sharma alias Golu (27) and Shivam Sharma (26), both of Barohi village, Bhind district, Madhya Pradesh; and Shani Singh alias Sandeep (32) of Garikarna village, Khairagarh police station, Agra district, Uttar Pradesh.

Basna police registered a case under Section 25 of the Arms Act and Section 61(2)(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. All four were formally arrested on August 10, 2026.

The timely action by the alert Basna police team prevented what could have been a serious incident involving arms and narcotics trafficking across state borders.

–IANS

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