In a scene straight out of a thriller, Meerut police have busted a sophisticated illegal weapons manufacturing unit with a cinematic twist. Late Tuesday night, a joint operation by the Inchauli police and the SWAT team led them to a house in Khardauni village, where a seemingly ordinary wardrobe served as a secret portal to an underground arms factory.
This discovery comes just two weeks after another clandestine workshop was found hidden beneath a bed in the same district, highlighting a bizarre trend in concealed criminal operations.
The Secret Basement and the BCA Student
The raid at the Khardauni forest location led to the arrest of four individuals, exposing a gang with a surprising demographic mix. Among those handcuffed was Umang Thakur, a 19-year-old BCA student at a local city college, who allegedly utilized his tech-savvy background to manage weapon supplies and logistics.
The Gang's Structure:
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Imran (Mastermind): A notorious criminal first jailed for running an arms factory in 2000. After 25 years, he returned to his roots to lead this new operation.
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Kuldeep: Identified as the primary supplier.
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Narendra: The middleman facilitating deals.
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Umang Thakur: The student "delivery partner" who supplied pistols on demand.
A High-Tech Arsenal Behind the Closet
The entry point was a masterclass in deception: a closet door inside the house opened not to clothes, but to a staircase leading into a basement. Inside, police were stunned to find a fully equipped manufacturing plant.
Items Seized During the Raid:
| Category | Recovered Items |
| Finished Weapons | 5 finished pistols, 1 semi-finished pistol |
| Components | 45 barrels, 36 springs, 115 spring cases |
| Machinery | A welding machine, two types of lathes, and a grinder |
| Manual Tools | Drills (41 bits), bench vices, saws, files, and chisels |
The WhatsApp Connection
According to SSP Avinash Pandey and SP Rural Abhijeet Kumar, the gang was far from old-fashioned. They operated a high-tech supply chain, utilizing WhatsApp to coordinate orders and deliveries with buyers. The secret basement allowed them to manufacture deadly equipment on a large scale without alerting neighbors or local authorities.
The Police Crackdown
The Superintendent of Police stated that this gang had been active for a significant period, re-establishing a network that stretched back decades. While four key players are in custody, authorities are continuing their investigation to trace the buyers and any other hidden links in this "closet-to-basement" criminal enterprise.
