Patna Police Seize Large Cache Of Illegal Weapons In Raid At Panchayat Head's Home
Patna police arrested Gautam Kumar and Brij Bihari Yadav, seizing illegal weapons in city raids following a tip-off. Raids uncovered illegal rifles, guns, and ammunition.
Patna police have arrested a wanted criminal and seized a large haul of illegal weapons after a series of late-night raids across the city.
The operation was launched on Monday night after a tip-off. Patna SP (West) Bhanu Pratap Singh led the raid in the Ranitalab police station area of Paliganj, where the team tracked down Gautam Kumar, also known as Sholdi, at Kab village. Along with him, police arrested Brij Bihari Yadav from Jitan Chhapra. Both are accused of using illegal arms to tighten their grip on the local sand trade, reported ToI.
During the first raid, officers recovered a country-made pistol, live cartridges, and a vehicle from Gautam’s hideout. His interrogation opened the door to a wider network. Acting on the leads he provided, police stormed 12 more locations across the city.
One of the major raids was carried out at the residence of Rahul Kumar, the head of Dhana Panchayat and nephew of sand trader Ramakant Yadav. From there, police seized rifles, double-barrel guns, sharp-edged weapons, including a Khukhri, and hundreds of live rounds, among them 7.65 KF and 0.315 bore cartridges.
City SP (West) Bhanu Pratap Singh was quoted by Live Hindustan as saying that they had received inputs about an AK-47 and other weapons being stored in Kab village. Intelligence also suggested that rival groups were preparing for a possible gunfight over control of sand ghats.
Police also raided the house of former Panchayat member Brij Bihari Yadav in Jeetan Chapra, recovering two country-made pistols, four empty magazines, 20 bullets, knives, a fighter weapon, and a khukri.
Investigations revealed that two of the seized rifles were licensed in Manipur, but the owners had violated storage and usage norms. The number of cartridges found also exceeded permissible limits.
Police confirmed that Gautam Kumar, the prime accused, has a long criminal record. Cases under the Arms Act were filed against him in 2012, 2018, 2020, and 2022, with a chargesheet already submitted in one case. Locals also informed police that Gautam had previously fired shots several times to assert control over sand ghats.
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