*Office of Senior Superintendent of Police, STF, Uttarakhand.*
*13.4.2026*
♦️ *Major joint operation by Uttarakhand STF and Pulbhatta Police – Interstate arms smuggler arrested with a huge quantity of illegal weapons.*
♦️ *Six 315 bore pistols, one 12 bore rifle, two .32 bore empty cartridges, and one WagonR car recovered from the arrested illegal arms smuggler.*
♦️ *The arrested accused was involved in the supply of illegal arms between Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh for a long time. The recovered weapons were manufactured in an illegal arms factory in Uttar Pradesh.*
♦️ *In illegal arms cases, the Uttarakhand STF has arrested eight notorious arms smugglers along with 21 illegal weapons and 35 cartridges so far this year.*
In accordance with the instructions of the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, the Director General of Police, Uttarakhand Under Operation Prahar, a campaign being run in the state by Deepam Seth, STF was directed to arrest and take action against gangs/gangsters and illegal weapons active in the state of Uttarakhand. In continuation of which, Senior Superintendent of Police, STF Ajay Singh constituted a team and gave proper guidelines to the teams for their arrest and seizure by taking action against active gangs and illegal weapons. In this sequence, today the STF team along with the team of Police Station Pulbhatta arrested the accused Mahesh Gangwar, son of Nanhe Lal Gangwar, resident of village Amkheda, Police Station Baheri, District Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, present address – Uttaranchal Colony, Police Station Kichha, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand from Police Station Pulbhatta area with 06 illegal pistols of 315 bore and 01 rifle of 12 bore, 02 empty cartridges.
Case:- Giving information in the above case, SSP STF Ajay Singh said that the State STF. The STF continuously monitors and keeps a close watch on illegal weapons and gangsters. In response, on 13/04/2026, the STF received information about illegal arms smuggling on the Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand border. I formed a team to take action. With the assistance of the Pulbhatta police station, the team arrested a notorious arms smuggler with a large cache of illegal weapons. The accused was smuggling the weapons to Uttarakhand in a WagonR car, which was intercepted by the team in the Pulbhatta police station area. The STF has disrupted a major illegal arms network operating in the Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand area. This is a significant step by the STF in addressing the daily incidents of gunfire in Uttarakhand. This year, the STF has successfully recovered 21 illegal weapons and 35 cartridges and sent eight arms smugglers behind bars. Detailed information regarding the network is being collected from the arrested smuggler. A case is being registered against him under appropriate sections at Pulbhatta police station.
*Details of the arrested accused:*
Mahesh Gangwar, son of Nanhe Lal Gangwar, resident of village Amkheda, Baheri police station, Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh. Present address: Uttaranchal Colony, Kichha police station, Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand.
*Recoveries:*
06 pistols 315 bore
01 rifle 12 bore
02 empty cartridges 0.32 bore
01 vehicle: WagonR car
*Team: Uttarakhand STF*
1. Inspector MP Singh
2. Inspector Diwan Singh Jalal
3. Sub-Inspector Jagdeep Negi
4. Sub-Inspector Prakash Bhagat
5. Head Constable Govind Bisht
6. Head Constable Riyaz Akhtar
7. Head Constable Surendra Kanwal
8. Head Constable Durga Singh
9. Constable Mohit Verma
10. Constable Gurwant Singh
*Pulbhatta Police Station Team*
1. Sub-Inspector Pradeep Mishra (SO)
2. Sub-Inspector Dinesh Bhatt
3. Sub-Inspector Prakash Chandra
4. Constable Gajendra Singh