Arms smuggler held steps from Maharashtra CM's private residence in Nagpur

Nagpur: The crime branch's vehicle theft squad has arrested a man running an arms smuggling racket. The accused was caught by the crime branch just a few steps from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's private residence in Dharampeth. Two Mauser pistols, 14 cartridges and four empty magazines were recovered from him. The arrested accused is Yogesh Yadavlal Siria (28) of Gavlipura, Sadar.

Yogesh Siria originally hails from Mandla in Madhya Pradesh. He has been caught smuggling weapons before. He smuggles arms along with another criminal, Akash Thapa. Akash Thapa was arrested on August 29 with three Mausers and cartridges. Akash is currently lodged in Nagpur jail. Police had been searching for Yogesh since Akash's arrest. According to sources, Yogesh was roaming near Tikoni Park in Dharampeth carrying a Mauser and cartridges. On learning this, the crime branch's anti-vehicle theft squad raided the area near Tikoni Park. On seeing the police team, Yogesh tried to flee. The police team chased and caught him. On searching him, police found two Mausers, 14 cartridges and four empty magazines. He had arrived there on an Activa scooter. Police recovered goods worth Rs 1.30 lakh, including the weapons, the Activa and two mobile phones.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's private residence is just a few steps from Tikoni Park. That Yogesh was roaming the area carrying such a large quantity of Mausers and cartridges is a matter of concern from a security standpoint. According to sources, Yogesh had earlier also smuggled MD drugs. Following his arrest, police are tracing others linked to his racket. The operation was carried out under the guidance of ACP Vaibhav Jadhav by PI Dilip Chandan, Havaldar Roshan Tiwari, Nitin Verma, Vilas Kokate, Ajay Shukla, Rahul Kusrame, Abhay Dhone, Kishor Somkuwar and Vivek Kawadkar.