Gurgaon: The guns that the shooters killed in the Sushant Lok encounter on Thursday night carried are believed to be semi-automatics made by Chinese defence manufacturer Norinco, adding an international arms smuggling dimension to the probe.PX-30s, the market name for Norinco’s PX-3s because of their .30 bore, come with a 17-round detachable magazine that the gunmen used to fire at the house of a 36-year-old businessman over an alleged extortion demand of Rs 10 crore and then at the police team that surrounded them, leading to the encounter in which more than 60 rounds were fired in one of the city’s toniest neighbourhoods.Police sources said PX-30s are available in Pakistan’s weapons black market, especially in Peshawar, and have found their way into India before through illegal cross-border arms, either through arms drops from Pakistan or the Nepal border. On June 19 this year, BSF and Punjab Police intercepted a consignment of 25 pistols, including Norincos and an AK-47, in Amritsar. On Jan 21, 11 Glocks, five Ziganas and three Norincos were intercepted in Fazilka.But more get through. There’s growing evidence that organised gangs operating in Haryana and NCR are finding ways to lay their hands on them. This Feb, Delhi Police recovered a PX-30 from a hitman of the Kaushal Chaudhary gang. The Gurgaon shooters, allegedly sent by gangster Deepak Nandal, who is from Rohtak and is believed to have escaped to the UK, carried three PX-30s. Four of the five shooters were killed in the Sushant Lok encounter. The fifth one is admitted to Medanta. Police said the accused were armed with the intention to kill, but crime branch teams, already deployed after receiving intelligence about an impending attack, intercepted them within minutes.
Officers said the source of the weapons is one of the most important aspects of the probe
“The source of these weapons is one of the most important aspects of the probe. These are sophisticated firearms, not weapons that are usually sourced from local illegal manufacturers. We are examining the supply chain,” an officer associated with the investigation said.Officials said gang members assigned to execute crimes are often oblivious to the logistics behind the weapons. They are typically instructed only where to collect the firearms, while the identities of suppliers, couriers and handlers remain concealed. “These pistols are even costlier than Glock handguns. A PX-30 can cost between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 10 lakh in the illegal market,” the officer said.The recovery has also revived scrutiny of Nandal’s suspected links with fugitive gangster Satta Naushera, a close aide of designated terrorist Lakhbir Singh Landa. Haryana Police has previously said Naushera operates an illegal arms supply network that allegedly routes sophisticated foreign-made weapons, including Glock pistols, from Pakistan into India before selling them to gangs in Punjab and Haryana.Police are examining whether Naushera or members of his network had any role in procuring or facilitating the supply of the firearms recovered in Thursday’s encounter. Sources, however, insisted that no conclusions have been reached.
