Viral video of woman washing pistols with soap helps cops bust illegal arms factory in Madhya Pradesh

A viral video helped Madhya Pradesh police bust an illegal arms factory in the state. The video that was going around on social media caught the eye of state police when people started tagging the authorities under the video.

The illegal factory was busted in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena on Friday night (Aug 9) after the viral video showed a saree-clad woman washing pistols with soap.

It was clear from the video, that the pistols were country-made, as the woman was carefully washing them over a vessel and rubbing it with soap and brush to make them shine.

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After verifying the viral video, a police team on Friday night raided a house in the Ganeshpura area, where the illegal arms unit had been operated for the last six months, the Mahua police station in-charge Pawan Singh told media, reported news agency PTI.

A senior police officer said, “We got to know about a video of a woman who was cleaning some country-made pistols. Then, we found out the accused was from Ganeshpura village and that her husband was involved in the business of making country-made pistols. During the raid, the woman’s husband and father-in-law were arrested as they tried to flee.”

During the searches, police found a double-barrel gun of 315 bore, a pistol of 315 bore, a pistol of 32 bore, and several incomplete weapons. They also seized materials and tools used to make these illegal weapons.

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Police are interrogating the suspects to find out the origin from where these illegal weapons are being distributed.

The arrested were identified as Shakti Kapoor Sakhwar and his father Biharilal Sakhwar- both were allegedly running the illegal arms factory, the police said.

Police have registered a case against the accused under the Arms Act and are investigating where weapons were being supplied, he said.

On Saturday (Aug 10), the accused were produced before a local court which sent Biharilal Sakhwar to jail and his son to one-day police custody for questioning.

The Arms Act of 1959 is an Act of the Parliament of India that consolidates and amends the law relating to arms and ammunition to curb illegal weapons and violence stemming from them.

(With inputs from agencies)