Delhi: 20 held, weapons seized in Rohini under ‘Operation Shastra’

Delhi Police has arrested 20 people, including three history-sheeters and an alleged associate of the Gogi gang, and seized illegal firearms and knives during a two-day special drive in Rohini district aimed at cracking down on organised crime and street offences, officials said on Friday.

The drive, ‘Operation Shastra’, was carried out on June 17 and 18 across Rohini district as part of a coordinated crackdown on criminal activities and illegal possession of arms.

The police said 20 cases under the Arms Act were registered during the drive. The seizures included one pistol, 10 country-made pistols, 12 live cartridges and nine knives, a senior police.

As part of the operation, police teams intensified patrolling, set up special pickets at vulnerable locations, carried out extensive vehicle checking, and conducted house searches of history-sheeters, proclaimed offenders and criminals out on bail.

A total of 15 police teams were deployed across the district for continuous monitoring and verification. During the drive, around 40 to 50 history-sheeters and bad characters were checked and their suspected hideouts searched, the police said.

An analysis of the criminal backgrounds of those arrested revealed that 13 accused were collectively involved in 88 previous criminal cases, while six had no prior criminal record.

Among those arrested, Kali Charan alias Kalu (28), a resident of Mangolpuri, was held with a country-made pistol and two live cartridges. Police said he is a listed bad character of Mangolpuri police station and has 32 previous criminal involvements, mostly in robbery and vehicle theft cases.

Another accused, Rohit alias Naresh alias Lullu (32), was arrested by Begumpur police with a country-made pistol. He has 11 previous criminal cases, including multiple Arms Act and theft cases.

Police arrested Inderjeet alias Golu (26) with a country-made pistol and one live cartridge. Police said he was wanted in a POCSO case involving the kidnapping and sexual assault of a minor.

In a separate case, police arrested Pawan (26) from Sultanpuri with a country-made pistol and a live cartridge. He has six previous criminal involvements and allegedly disclosed the source of the weapon during interrogation, police said.