City's encounter specialists are still waiting to acquire the sophisticated Glock pistols that they had ordered last year
City's encounter specialists are still waiting to acquire theu00a0 sophisticated Glock pistols that they had ordered last year
While several underworld gangs are thriving in Pune, the city's encounter specialists are still waiting to acquire the highly sophisticated pistols to deal with them.
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Shotgun: According to Dr Satyapal Singh, the Pune police force will be equipped with (below) Glock pistols and a wide range of other electronic gadgets. File Pics |
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The Pune police had ordered semi-automatic Glock 17 pistols costing around Rs 18 crore in June last year, but Commissioner of Police Dr Satyapal Singh told MiD DAY that they haven't received the pistols yet.
Dr Satyapal added that besides Glock pistols, he plans to equip the force with GPS and a wide range of other electronic gadgets. "Besides, a large numbers of cops from several police stations have been shortlisted to undergo commando training in the next few months," he said.
These developments assume significance in light of the fact that some members of terror groups were arrested from Pune late last year. These weapons could be useful to prevent an attack like theu00a0 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Gangland menace
The police have identified more than 40 gangs that are active in and around Pune and a majority of them had mushroomed during the real estate boom. Prominent among the gangs are the Arun Gawli faction that has a strong base in Maval taluka and is quite active near Wadgoan.
Members of the rival Chhota Rajan and Ravi Pujari gangs are also active in Pune city. These startling facts came to light after six members of the Pujari gang were nabbed in a scoop on April 11.
Earlier, the police had to deal with Sadiq Ibrahim Bengali alias Salman and his men when they stormed into a builder's office near Clover Island to demand Rs 10 crore as protection money. There are also small-time gangs headed by Ravi Dhumal and Ashok Choudhary. "It is matter of time before the gangs start posing serious problems to the city," said a local police officer.
Unwary expressway Police sources also informed that gangsters from Mumbai have been regularly using the expressway to escape after committing crimes in Pune. Lack of patrolling on the highway has become a blessing in disguise for the gang.
Splendid 17The body of the Glock 17 pistol is made of high strength nylon-based polymer and can fire 17 rounds at a time. Further, it comes with adjustable and fixed sight and can also be mounted with night vision.
The pistols are manufactured in Austria and the local army started using them in 1982. Besides, the Dutch, Swedish, Pakistani, Israeli and United States police also use the semi-automatic Glock pistols of various upgraded series.
