While investigating Gauri Lankesh murder, Karnataka SIT unravels illegal countrymade gun racket

In the trail of nabbing the assailants of slain scribe Gauri Lankesh, the Special Investigation Team handling stumbled upon a huge network of illegal country-made arms racket in northern Karnataka. A country made 7.65mm gun was used to kill Lankesh and MM Kalburgi. Such guns were widely available in Karnataka before the SIT crackdown. Source said that these guns are manufactured in parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and then sold in Karnataka. A nomadic community called Shikalgar are one of the main manufacturers of desi guns. In Mandsaur district of MP, there are around 100 Shikalgars and their main occupation is manufacturing guns. Source said that its a family tradition of the community and they cannot be nabbed easily as they are always on the move. In the recent crackdown, Karnataka police seized around 40-45 such guns in Bidar, Gulbarga and Bijapur districts. Each of these guns costs anywhere between Rs 50,000-75,000. A top source said that the police managed to disrupt the network. The state police even laid a trap to nab the main supplier, Bachchan Singh. The cops disguised themselves as customer and met Bachchan in MP. However, Bachchan managed to escape as he became wary of the police involvement in the deal. The Shikalgars manufacture all guns inside their house premises. Although, the munition they procure is factory made. 15 middlemen and owners were arrested in possession of illegal country made guns in Karnataka. Source added that mostly petty criminals and gang members buy such guns. Source: India Today