37 swords seized from courier company in city

Swords and kukri sent from Jalandhar, Punjab

Aurangabad, March 30:

The police on Wednesday seized 37 swords and 1 kukri that were sent from Jalandhar, Punjab to the city by courier in the name of seven people. According to information received by the assistant commissioner of police, the Kranti Chowk police raided the DTDC company office at Nirala Bazar and seized swords wrapped in a box. Police have registered a case against the manager of the courier company and the investigation has been handed over to the crime branch.

According to deputy commissioner of police Ujjwala Vankar, ACP Ashok Thorat had received a tip-off that swords had been sent to the city. Based on the information, teams of PSI Ashok Khatke and Prabhakar Sonawane of Kranti Chowk police station raided the DCTC courier at Nirala Bazar around 10.30 am on Wednesday. During the raid, manager Valmik Chokhaji Jogdand (Sanjaynagar, Mukundwadi) gave vague answers to the police. After police began searching the office, 12 swords were found in a box outside Jogdand's cabin. Jogdand then handed the other swords to the police. A case has been registered against Jogdand on the complaint of PSI Khatke.

Order consists of the names of seven people

Six persons from Aurangabad and one from Jalna had ordered the swords through DTDC courier from Jalandhar in Punjab. The parcel arrived at the company's office a few days ago. DCP Vankar informed that the police raided and confiscated the swords before their delivery. Initially, a case was registered against the company's manager and an investigation is underway into the person in whose name the parcel was received, she said.

Three in the custody of the crime branch

The crime branch teams immediately started searching for the persons ordering the swords. Three of the seven have been arrested. One person was found and the process of arresting him was going on till late at night. One of the remaining three is in Uttar Pradesh and the other is from Mumbai. Preliminary investigation has revealed that the name and mobile number of one person is incorrect on the parcel.

CP on alert

Municipal elections will be held in the city in the near future. Hence police are on high alert that no untoward incident should take place in the city. CP Nikhil Gupta is also on alert. The case has been handed over to crime branch inspector Avinash Aghav to curb the rising incidents of smuggling of lethal weapons by courier companies.