Crime Branch busts illegal arms network tied to notorious gangs

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police’s Crime Branch team arrested a wanted criminal and his associate ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections.

An anonymous source tipped the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police about the criminal.

The accused has been identified as Suraj alias Suraj Kanojia (24), Vishal Dendra (24), both residents of Sangam Vihar.

According to the police, acting under the Election Commission of India’s guidelines, the operation targeted illicit liquor, drugs, and illegal firearms. The accused Suraj Kanojia and wanted in a sensational attempted murder case registered at the police station Sangam Vihar, was apprehended in the Vikas Nagar area on January 9.

Police recovered a sophisticated pistol and two live cartridges from him. An accomplice, Vishal Dendra, a supplier of illegal weapons, was also arrested, with a country-made pistol and one live cartridge seized.

The arrests stemmed from a firing incident on October 26, 2024, where Kanojia and accomplices attacked the house of Suraj Pota, an associate of gangsters Hashim Baba and Shahrukh Khan, over a personal feud.

Extensive raids across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, coupled with technical surveillance, culminated in their capture.

During interrogation, Kanojia admitted to procuring weapons from Dendra, a member of the Prince Tewatia gang.

Dendra, previously involved in a 2020 Wazirabad murder case, facilitated the transport of illegal firearms.

The operation, led by Insp. Manjeet Dagar and supervised by ACP Ajay Kumar, highlights intensified efforts to curb criminal activities during the election period.