Delhi Police arrests sharpshooter, arms supplier linked to Kapil Sangwan gang

New Delhi: Delhi Police has arrested a sharpshooter and an arms supplier linked to the Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu gang, and seized two country-made pistols and five live cartridges from their possession, officials said on Saturday.

The main accused, Sumit Punia (25), a resident of Mahendergarh in Haryana, was arrested in Dwarka with a country-made semi-automatic pistol and five live rounds, a senior police officer said.

During interrogation, police found that Sumit was absconding in a 2021 encounter case registered by the Special Cell, and had links with the Nandu gang, where he allegedly worked as a sharpshooter.

At his instance, police arrested the gang's alleged weapons supplier, Badar Islam (32), from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh and recovered a country-made pistol from his possession, the officer said.

Police said the accused were part of a network supplying illegal firearms to members of the gang, which were used to threaten victims who resisted extortion.

According to investigators, Sumit, who joined the gang around 2020-21, was known to gangster Kapil Sangwan since childhood, as they belonged to neighbouring villages.

Earlier arrested in an arms case in Haryana, Sumit was involved in multiple criminal cases lodged in Delhi and Haryana.

Badar, who allegedly supplied weapons for quick money, has also been named in several criminal cases registered in Uttar Pradesh, police said.

The duo has been booked under the relevant sections of law, including the Arms Act, at the Crime Branch police station, the officer said.