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BAHADURGARH/ROHTAK: The Rohtak Special Task Force has intercepted a massive illegal ammunition consignment and arrested five persons, including a woman and a licensed gun house owner, while they were allegedly transporting 25,000 live cartridges from Haryana to Uttar Pradesh. The arrests were carried out near a highway eatery close to the Rohad toll plaza in Bahadurgarh following specific intelligence inputs. Officials have classified the haul as the largest single seizure of cartridges in North India. The suspects, all residents of Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, were taken into custody after arms and ammunition were found hidden inside two cars, leading investigators directly to an arms dealer based in Sirsa.
Ammunition Recovered from Vehicles Near Rohad Toll Plaza
Acting on specific intelligence that illegal arms dealers from Badaun were stationed in two vehicles near a dhaba before the Rohad toll plaza, an STF team led by DSP Shamsher Dahiya laid a cordon and intercepted a Tata Harrier and a Hyundai Aura. During a thorough search of both vehicles, police personnel discovered thousands of cartridges packed into bags and concealed inside the boots and beneath passenger seats. A count revealed 24,400 live cartridges of .315 bore rifle ammunition in the Tata Harrier, along with 600 live rounds of .32 bore ammunition inside the Hyundai Aura.
All five occupants of the intercepted cars were arrested on the spot and booked under relevant provisions at the Asauda police station. STF Inspector Yogendra Dahiya identified the accused as Afifuddin alias Munna Khan, aged 49, a resident of Labela Chowk in Civil Lines; Ashim Rais, aged 33, from Nahar Khan Sarai; Zeenat Ara, aged 33, from Jalan Sarai; Arbaaz Khan, aged 27, from Mohalla Nai; and Sabal Khan, from Kabulpura. Police confirmed that the principal suspect, Afifuddin, operates Badaun Gun House in the Civil Lines area of Badaun.
Interstate Probe Leads to Sirsa Arms Dealer
During preliminary interrogation, the suspects told investigators that the entire consignment had been procured from Mahak Gun House, situated in Nohariya Bazaar, Sirsa, and managed by Vijay Goyal. Following these disclosures, an STF team reached Sirsa early on Tuesday morning and took Goyal into custody for questioning. Goyal has been operating in the firearms trade for over three decades and holds a nationwide license to supply arms and ammunition. Under firearms regulations, dealers are permitted to sell ammunition exclusively to verified license holders within statutory quotas, making the bulk off-the-books transfer of 25,000 cartridges a grave violation.
Investigators are scrutinizing stock registers, sales documentation, and ledger discrepancies at the Sirsa outlet. The operation stems from broader interstate inquiries triggered on November 2, when Bihar Police seized 20,000 cartridges in Bhojpur district and arrested an operative named Laltu and his associates. Subsequent investigation established that Laltu maintained close ties with Munna Khan of Badaun and had also procured ammunition stocks originating from Sirsa.
Prior Maoist Supply Cases Resurface Under Scrutiny
The current seizure has renewed focus on past irregularities involving firearms outlets located in Sirsa. On January 3, 2010, acting on inputs from central intelligence agencies, police had raided Hindustan Gun House on Arya Samaj Road in connection with an illegal supply network that routed 22 rifles and over 5,000 cartridges to Maoists in Arwal district, Bihar. Physical verification during that probe had unearthed 6,035 unrecorded pistol and revolver rounds, 745 rifle rounds, and 120 shotgun shells in surplus stock. On December 9, 2025, a Sirsa court convicted three persons in that case, handing down two-year prison terms.
Investigators are interrogating the five arrested accused on police remand to establish the final recipients of the 25,000 rounds. Police are probing whether this illegal consignment was meant for distribution ahead of upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh, while coordinating with counterpart agencies across states to dismantle the wider supply syndicate.
