Gurgaon: During the last 18 months, police have seized over 370 weapons from gangsters or criminals, out of which 222 pistols were manufactured in Madhya Pradesh and 148 country-made pistols were produced in Uttar Pradesh. These recoveries were made from Jan 2024 till June 2025. In fact, pistol and country-made pistols (katta) — manufactured at several illegal firearms factories in MP and UP respectively — are being supplied to gangs in NCR. Pistols are priced between Rs 15,000 and Rs 1 lakh, while country-made pistols are available for Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. According to police, gangsters, based abroad, supplied arms to their members in India. Many youngsters, attracted to gang culture, purchased these weapons through social media platforms and WhatsApp groups.370 and counting Gurgaon police — from Jan 2024 till June 2025 — seized 370 illegal firearms that were manufactured in MP and UP. Police arrested 235 accused and recovered approximately 250 weapons across 198 cases last year. From Jan to June this year, authorities recovered 120 weapons in 95 cases and apprehended 127 accused.Snatchers, robbers and those individuals who are involved in petty crimes possess these weapons, police said. Recently, a crime branch team from the city recently recovered illegal firearms from members of the gangster Lipin Nehra’s group. Nehra, who is believed to be in the US, is a close associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and faces over 20 criminal cases, including murder, says a senior police officer.The officer said Nehra had supplied pistols manufactured in Madhya Pradesh to his gang and directed them to eliminate a rival gang member. However, police arrested two men in possession of illegal pistols allegedly supplied by Nehra. “The arrested duo received the weapons from unidentified persons sent by their gang leader for the task. Many efforts have been made to zero in on these illegal factories operating in MP but the business continues to flourish,” the senior officer. Another officer said illegal pistols are readily available in various parts of Madhya Pradesh, such as Burhanpur, Khargone, Dhar and Khandwa. “A Sikligar community in MP makes these weapons for their livelihood. They buy iron rods in bulk from scrap and then mould them into weapons. Many arms factories are operating there in the residential area too. Local police shield them if we try to nab them,” the officer said.The situation is similar in Uttar Pradesh, where illegal firearm factories are active in regions including Meerut, Aligarh, Sambhal and Ghaziabad. UP Police, in collaboration with the STF, seized 300 guns and 50,000 bullets from an illegal factory operating in Mirzaganj, Lucknow last month.
