Bhopal:

Ahead of the assembly election in Madhya Pradesh, gunrunners have been arrested from tribal dominated Dhar district.

The latest to be arrested are three gunrunners, including Ishwar Singh Burnala, who is wanted in six states in 35 cases; Takhdir Singh, wanted in Punjab, and Jatan Singh, wanted in Telangana and Karnataka.

The Dhar police said the three were arrested based on intelligence inputs.

The police operations against the gunrunners are part of a focused operation.

Many from the Sikligars, a community that for generations has been skilled in making weapons in the jungles of western Madhya Pradesh, have been arrested by the police in recent times.

The special operation by the Dhar police resulted in the seizure of 151 firearms, 13 bullets, and Rs 36 lakh in cash.

Once renowned gunsmiths for the army raised by the tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, the Sikligars of Madhya Pradesh are now infamous for making illegal firearms for criminals across India.

An NDTV crew on September 24 travelled from Bhopal, the state capital, to the villages of the Sikligar community in the districts of  Barwani, Dhar, Burhanpur and Khargone, which border Maharashtra.

The terrain was difficult to navigate, but the journey to uncover the truth about the Sikligar community was imperative.

The crew reached a village near Palsood in Barwani district and met two Sikligars who make illegal weapons. They showed their equipment and said they sell the weapons for Rs 5,000-7,000. Using only bare hands, a hammer, and a chisel, the skilled Sikligar smiths can conjure a weapon out of raw materials in about 10-12 days.

“Our children remain hungry; hence, we make weapons. We buy iron rods for Rs 25-30 per kilogram from scrap. We fire a kiln, and a few others also use lathe machines to make more sophisticated weapons. Where is the option for us? Most of our people are helpless because of poverty, and we need money. When we have nothing to do, we move towards arms-making. We cannot die of hunger,” a Sikligar weapon-maker said.