Nine notorious criminals held in Kalaburagi, illegal firearms recovered

The Kalaburagi police have arrested nine hardcore criminals, including two associates of the dreaded killer of Bheema basin Chandappa Harijan, and have recovered 20 country-made pistols and 54 bullets from them.

Inspector General of Police (North-East Range) Alok Kumar briefing reporters here on Monday, said, "Two of the arrested - Mallikarjun and Arjun - were associates of Chandappa Harijan. The arrested were involved in criminal activities in Afzalpur."

"The illegal country-made firearms from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are being smuggled into the district. Huge cache of illegal firearms are being smuggled into the region from Madhya Pradesh, in particular, where illegal firearm industry thrives. A team led by Kalaburagi SP N Shashikumar will be sent to Madhya Pradesh to probe into the nexus of firearm dealers and the local criminals and take measures to prevent the smuggling," Alok Kumar said.

IGP (North-East Range) felicitated the police team with cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for arresting the dreaded criminals.

Alok Kumar said that he would recommend Additional SP Lokesh's name for Chief Minister's Medal.