Bhopal/Pune, Nov 22 In a high-stakes dawn operation spanning two states, police forces from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra demolished a sprawling illegal arms manufacturing racket hidden in the forested hills of Umarti village of Barwani district.
Over 250 police personnel, including the Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), stormed four clandestine factories at 4 a.m. on Saturday, seizing machinery capable of producing over 500 unlicensed pistols and detaining 47 suspects, including seven key accused handed over to Maharashtra authorities. Almost all the accused had a criminal past.
The raid, led by Barwani Superintendent of Police Jagdish Dawar (IPS) and Pune Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Dr Somay Munde (IPS), involved teams from Pune Police's crime branch, Barwani, Khargone, and Khandwa police, bolstered by ATS specialists in wireless, drone surveillance, and cyber forensics.
"This is the largest crackdown on an illegal arms smuggling network we've seen," Dawar told reporters, crediting weeks of secret surveillance triggered by local complaints of suspicious activities. The hilly terrain, dense with forests, had long shielded the operation, allowing it to supply weapons across states under the guise of rural isolation.
The bust stems from a recent weapons seizure in Pune, Maharashtra, where interrogations and technical leads pointed to Umarti as the epicenter. "Following reliable inputs from Pune, we launched this joint assault," said Sendhwa Sub-Divisional Officer Ajay Waghmare.
Officers recovered a massive cache: semi-finished pistols, .32-bore firearms, manufacturing tools, lathes, drilling machines, and raw materials like metal barrels and firing pins. Unfinished weapons littered the sites, underscoring the factory's industrial scale — enough output to arm criminal syndicates for months.
Preliminary probes reveal an organised gang, possibly involving over 20 households in the 80-home village, many from the local Sikhligar community with a history of such illicit trades. Mobile phones, documents, and call records seized point to a supply chain feeding Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and urban Maharashtra, echoing past busts in the area.
"We're tracing the network's tentacles; more arrests are imminent," Dawar added, noting forensic analysis will map distribution routes and a detailed information about their motive will be given shortly.
The operation marks the third major inter-state arms raid in Barwani since 2023, highlighting persistent challenges in curbing rural manufacturing hubs. Past seizures, like Anantapur Police's 2023 uncovering of nine units here, seized dozens of pistols and ammunition, often linked to drug and fake currency rackets.
Experts warn that economic distress in tribal belts fuels these enterprises, with weapons fetching Rs 20,000–50,000 each on the black market.
Pune Joint Commissioner Ranjan Kumar Sharma hailed the coordination: "A 105-member team executed flawlessly, demolishing the factories on-site."
Among the detained, locals and migrant workers face charges under the Arms Act and IPC sections for conspiracy. Maharashtra Police, leading the probe, suspect ties to urban gangs amid rising firearm crimes in Pune.
As special teams scour the Narmada River borders for fleeing suspects, authorities vow intensified patrols. "This disrupts a vital artery for illegal arms; vigilance will prevent resurgence," Munde emphasised.
The raid not only averts potential violence but signals a robust federal push against organised crime in India's heartland, where porous terrains breed shadows of illegality.
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