Meerut police uncovered an illegal arms factory cleverly hidden beneath a double bed in a house basement, leading to multiple arrests and an ongoing investigation into a larger criminal network.
A day after police in Meerut district busted an illegal arms manufacturing factory and arrested 11 persons, the probe has revealed that the unit, being run from the basement of a house, was concealed with a double bed that was placed over its entrance, officials said on Monday.
SP (City) Vinayak Gopal Bhosale told PTI that investigators are examining whether permission for the basement was obtained under the pretext of running a small-scale business.
According to police, the basement was turned into a "fully organised mini factory", the entrance to which was hidden by placing a double bed on top of it.
When police removed the bed, they found a passage leading to the basement where machinery, tools, raw material, and semi-finished weapons were found arranged systematically, the SP said.
The investigation also revealed that the illegal arms unit was operating for an extended period.
The weapons were supplied to various "parties" who would come to the house to collect the consignments, police said.
"We are probing possible links to a larger network and have alerted the neighbouring districts to identify and bust such hidden units, if any," the officer said.
On Sunday, SSP Avinash Pandey said that a joint team raided the house in Alipur village following a tip-off, and found that pistols were being manufactured illegally in the basement of the premises.
Pandey said eight pistols (.32 bore), three semi-finished pistols, several magazines, barrels, and various other tools and equipment were recovered from the site.
Three cars and seven mobile phones were also seized during the operation, he said.
According to police, the factory was operated by Rahimuddin, who was responsible for procuring raw material for the illegal unit.
Rahimuddin is currently absconding, and efforts are on to arrest him, police said.