Hyderabad cops bust fake firearm licence racket

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force arrested a gang for allegedly supplying illegal firearms and fake licences to people seeking to work as security guards.

Police recovered from the gang, a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including 30 single-bore weapons, three double-bore weapons, a revolver, 140 rounds of ammo, 34 fake licence books, 29 unused licence books and nine licences affixed with fake stamps and other materials.

The police said the gang collected Rs. 20,000 from each applicant to issue a licence.

Police commissioner C.V. Anand identified the kingpin as Altaf Hussain, a Jammu and Kashmir native, and his associates as organisers of three private security firms involved in the racket.

Hussain came to Hyderabad in 2013, worked as a guard and later as a gunman with a cash service agency. Before his employment in the city, he had purchased a double-bore gun on a licence, which he later found to be fake.

Sensing an opportunity, he started issuing fake licences and roped in unemployed youth from Jammu and Kashmir to work as security guards.

Anand said that Venkata Konda Reddy, regional manager of Grace Management Security Services, and I. Srinivas, who runs a photocopy shop in West Marredpally, were also involved in this racket. Officials of Asian Security Services were also part of the racket, he said.