Gurgaon: Three alleged members of an extortion gang have been arrested on suspicion that they were preparing for an extortion in Delhi, and two foreign-made pistols and five live cartridges were seized.ACP Naveen Sharma said the men were allegedly conducting reconnaissance for the operation on the instructions of handlers based abroad. “We will, however, interrogate them to ascertain their target and to know their source of weapons. We are likely to make more arrests soon,” he said.The arrests were made by the Farrukhnagar crime branch unit of Gurgaon police on Friday. The men have been identified as Abhay alias Maulad (20), a resident of Khera Jhajhrola village; Jatin alias Jony (29), a resident of Patel Nagar in Sonipat and currently staying in Siddharth Colony; and Sagar, also a resident of Khera Jhanjhrola, police said.The cops said a team led by the in-charge of the Farrukhnagar crime unit, SI Lokesh, apprehended Abhay near Garhi flyover on New Pataudi-Gurgaon Road and nabbed Jatin and Sagar from Farrukhnagar. Delhi Police allegedly registered an FIR against Sagar in 2024 for firing at the office of a property dealer in Delhi, and Jatin was named by them in an Excise Act case. Police said Sagar attempted to evade the team by jumping from the flyover during the operation. He sustained a fracture in his leg and was admitted to a local civil hospital for treatment. He will be arrested in the case after his discharge.Police also seized two PX-3 pistols. They said these pistols were made in China. They suspect that the weapons were procured by the gang through a cross-border arms smuggling nexus from Pakistan and the weapons reached Haryana through Punjab. A case has been registered at Sector 10 police station under relevant provisions of the Arms Act.Abhay allegedly disclosed that Jatin had provided him with the illegal firearms, while Jatin had allegedly received the weapons from other associates.Investigators are now trying to establish the source of the firearms and identify the other members involved in their procurement and distribution. However, sources said the men had received weapons a few days ago and were asked to wait for directions by their foreign handlers who wished to target a Delhi resident for extortion.The guns used by the shooters killed in the Sushant Lok encounter in July this year were also believed to be PX-3s. These are semi-automatic pistols made by Chinese defence manufacturer Norinco. The gunmen used these pistols to fire at the house of a 36-year-old businessman over an alleged extortion demand of Rs 10 crore and then at the police team that surrounded them, leading to the encounter in which more than 60 rounds were fired in one of the city’s toniest neighbourhoods.Police sources said PX-30s are available in Pakistan’s weapons black market, especially in Peshawar, and have found their way into India before through illegal cross-border arms smuggling, either through arms drops from Pakistan or the Nepal border. On June 19 this year, BSF and Punjab Police intercepted a consignment of 25 pistols, including Norincos and an AK-47, in Amritsar. On Jan 21 this year, 11 Glocks, five Ziganas and three Norincos were intercepted in Fazilka.
