Sikar (Rajasthan): Sikar police have arrested Lance Naik Bhopal Singh, a 32-year-old serving soldier and resident of Jhotwara in Jaipur, in connection with an organised-crime and illegal-arms case in which two pistols and 43 live rounds were recovered from a flat in the city.
The arrest was made by a team of Dadiya police station led by Station House Officer Sanjay Poonia, with assistance from the District Special Team (DST). Police said the accused was traced on the basis of an input from the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF). Four other accused in the same case identified as Gulab, Pradeep, Manoj and Babulal had already been taken into custody.
The case originated on 17 June, when Kotwali police received information that a suspected offender was hiding in Flat No. 401 of Vishnudham Apartments, a fourth-floor residence near VK Jain Hospital on Station Road in Sikar. A raid at the premises led to the recovery of two illegal pistols, 43 live cartridges and other articles. An FIR was registered under provisions of the Arms Act and the organised-crime sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The investigation was subsequently transferred to Dadiya police.
During further inquiry and intelligence collection, investigators identified Lance Naik Bhopal Singh as an accused linked to the earlier recoveries and arrests. Police said he was then located and detained.
Separate reporting from Sikar has placed the June seizure in a wider alleged supply chain. According to that account, investigators have linked the recovered firearms including a Turkish-made Zigana pistol and another foreign-made pistol found during the apartment search to alleged arms supply involving co-accused Babulal Sharma, also known as Babu Pandit, of Sawai Madhopur, and Akshay Kumar Gurjar. Police have further alleged that some of the weapons were intended for use by associates of the Rohit Godara gang and that reconnaissance of traders in the Shekhawati region had been carried out. Those claims remain part of the continuing investigation and have not been independently adjudicated.
Police sources have also stated that military police officers visited Sikar to question the soldier after his arrest, and that he has been sent to jail. Search operations based on disclosures made during interrogation have been reported in Shekhawati and other areas.
The investigation remains with Sikar police and the AGTF. Further recoveries, if any, the precise role attributed to each accused, and the outcome of interrogation of the serving soldier will be determined as the probe proceeds under the Arms Act and the organised-crime provisions of the BNS.
