Arms supplier who wanted to kill, rob elderly couple nabbed

New Delhi: An infamous arms supplier who had planner to murder an elderly couple has been arrested from Kalindi Kunj area, with Delhi Police on Tuesday said the accused was carrying a reward of Rs one lakh rupees for his arrest.

Investigators claimed that to get easy and fast money, accused Mohit Verma had joined a syndicate involved in arms smuggling.

A semi-automatic pistol of .32 bore, along with five live cartridges were recovered from his possession.

Cops added that Verma, belonging to a middle-class family in Uttar Pradesh's Etawah, was supplying illegal arms for the last four years.

After completing schooling, he ran a small fast food stall in UP, but after it failed joined the illegal arms business.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Kushwaha said Verma was arrested on Sunday, after secret information was received that he would come near the timber market in Kalindi Kunj

"He was asked to surrender, but he whipped out a pistol to push back police team to evade arrest. But the police team overpowered him," the DCP said.

Kushwaha added that during interrogation, Verma told cops that his brother-in-law Aakash Patel was working as nursing attendant for a nonagenarian couple who live in south Delhi.

As the couple was affluent and were living alone, Patel discussed with Verma a plan to kill the couple and rob their house of cash, jewellery and other valuables.

"Verma procured weapons to execute this plan and he handed over the weapons to Patel. But sleuths of the Special Cell got wind of their nefarious plan and arrested Patel in May.

"Since then, Verma became underground to evade arrest and had been absconding and changing his hideouts in UP and Madhya Pradesh," the DCP further claimed.

Explaining Verma business operation over the last four years, Kushwaha elaborated that Verma used to procure weapons from Sendhwa in MP and Munger in Bihar, to be further supplied to in Delhi, UP and Rajasthan.

"Verma disclosed that he was lured by an arms dealer in Etawah and Verma worked as his carrier of illegal arms for two years. In 2016, he developed his own network and started supplying illegal arms through his own network," the senior police officer said.

He added that accused also disclosed he had already supplied more than 250 pistols in Delhi and adjoining States.

Verma modus operandi involved purchasing pistols for Rs 10,000 from suppliers in MP and later selling them for anything between Rs 20,000 to 25,000.

A press statement by Delhi Police noted that Verma was arrested for the first time in a case of arms smuggling in Fatehpur, UP, in 2016.

In July 2018, he was again arrested from Dewas, MP when he was bringing a shipment illegal arms to Delhi.