13 arrested with country pistols, nine weapons seized in Belagavi

BELAGAVI: A gang manufacturing country pistols was busted in Belagavi an a total of nine countrymade pistols were seized from them. The police have arrested 13 accused and sent them to jail. The country pistols were being made in Katagali village, Khanapur taluk.

The accused, Maruti Sutar, a resident of Katagali village, was manufacturing pistols at his home since 2024. The nine country pistols seized include one country pistol made at the accused’s house and eight pistols that were sold to eight people in Belagavi and Uttara Kannada districts. Pistols seized the weapons from accused Maruti Sutar, Somanath Chougule, Santosh Nayak, Maruti Gudadhyagol, Balu Nayak, Lakshman Gujanal, Basavaraj Salotagi, Basavant Yaramaalkar and Lakshman Gurav.

Accused Maruti Sutar was making single-loaded and double-loaded country pistols. It has come to light that these country pistols were being used for hunting. Accused Mariyappa Nayak had given money to manufacture the country pistols. Another accused, Vishwanath Desai, who was supplying gun parts, has been arrested.

Desai was selling gun parts and ammunition at a book stall in Joida, Uttara Kannada district. Twenty one triggers, five heads, 15 nipples, one sealing belt, 34 packets of gunpowder, 499 lead pellets, 420 caps, and 48 live cartridges were seized from him.

In 2024, police were probing a murder case in Khanapur taluk and the accused had committed murder using a country pistol. When police traced the source of the country pistol, explosive details came to light. A case has been registered at Khanapur police station.