TD MLA’s husband held

The Medak police on Monday busted an arms smuggling racket involving the Telugu Desam legislator, Ms Seethakka’s husband, N. Devender. Both are former naxalites.

Devender and two others were arrested for smuggling Rs 12 lakh worth of firearms, including an AK-56 rifle, and ammunition from Bihar to the Praja Pratighatana, a splinter naxal group led by one Mohanna.

Two arms smugglers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh who were arrested along with Devender confessed to police that they had supplied arms and ammunition to Maoists earlier.

The Medak superintendent of police, Mr V.C. Sajjanar, said a special team is being sent to Bihar to trace the origin of the weapons.

Around 3 am, a police team led by the sub-inspector, Mr Indrakaran, was checking vehicles at Zulkal crossroads in Sangareddy town of Medak district, about 50 km from here.

Around 4.30 am, the police stopped a white vehicle with Delhi registration traveling towards Hyderabad. Upon searching it, the police found arms in the vehicle and registered a case under the Arms Act.

Police seized Rs 27,000 cash, an AK-56 rifle, and a Springfield rifle, country pistols, 676 rounds of ammunition for AK-47 rifles and 9mm pistols,

Asked about the gun-running, Ms Seethakka said. “I won’t encourage this. With trust in democracy I participated in the elections and won. I am working with the people. I don’t know what he is doing.”

“If the law-enforcing agencies feel that I am involved I am ready for questioning. I have nothing to do with this,” she said.

Devender, 49, of Hanamakonda in Warangal district, was an underground naxal activist. He joined the CPI-ML (Chandra Pulla Reddy group) in 1979 and later worked for the Janashakti, another splinter naxal organisation. The Janashakti is largely defunct now.

He was arrested by Siricilla police in 1981 but was released later. He went underground and surfaced after 17 years in early 2009.

“Recently Mohanna of Praja Pratigatana contacted Devender for weapons. He made a deal for Rs 12 lakh and went to Khanpur in Uttar Pradesh to meet his old friend Sunil Kumar. They procured arms from Munger in Bihar and were caught while returning to Hyderabad,” said Mr Sajjanar.

Of the two persons arrested along with Devender, Sunil Kumar, 48, is a native of Khanpur and Ajay Kumar, 45, is from Moinbagh in Bihar. Sunil Kumar was working with an arms dealer, Guru Prasad, and was involved in the trade of illegal arms and ammunitions.

Police said Devender got in touch with Sunil Kumar through one Suryam. He purchased the weapons on April 15 at Unnao of Uttar Pradesh, which were packed and concealed in the vehicle that was subsequently stopped at the checkpost at Sangareddy.

Ajay Kumar confessed that he was working as a driver with Sunil Kumar and that they had supplied illegal arms to various persons including Maoists. In 2009 they were arrested by Nalanda police of Bihar and sent to jail.