Gorakhpur. The Special Task Force’s inquiry into an alleged weapons‑trafficking ring tied to Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and Rohit Godara has now broadened to include local contacts in Gorakhpur. A total of 31 individuals have been listed as accused, among them a confidant of a regional politician and the son of a police sub‑inspector. Investigators are combing through the mobile phones, social‑media accounts and address books of those already in custody.
Authorities are working to verify the identities of the local contacts uncovered during the probe. They aim to determine the content of the conversations these persons had with the accused and whether they played any role in the purported arms network. In a related development, Gorakhpur police briefly detained the brother of a student leader for questioning, but he was released shortly thereafter.
One of the named suspects is reportedly an associate of a politician from the Sahjanwa area, while another’s father serves as a sub‑inspector in the Uttar Pradesh police force. Following the registration of the case at the Cantt Police Station, raids are being conducted to locate the remaining fugitives, and investigators continue to scrutinise phone numbers and online activity linked to the case.
The STF is now focusing on pinpointing the local individuals allegedly involved in distributing weapons that entered Gorakhpur and the wider Purvanchal region from other states. Phone numbers and social‑media contacts harvested from the arrested suspects’ devices are being cross‑referenced with known networks.
Five Accused Apprehended on Monday Night
On Monday night, STF teams seized Shreyansh Yadav alias Bablu, Ajit Yadav, Abhishek Gaud alias Bheli, Abhishek Prajapati alias Abhi, and Rahul Gupta near Vindhyavasini Park. After the interrogation revealed an additional 26 names, the total number of accused rose to 31. While five have been taken into custody, the remaining 26 are still at large.
More than ten operational teams are sweeping across Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and the districts of Gorakhpur, Kushinagar and Maharajganj, hunting down the fugitives. Shashank Pandey, a resident of Bihar, is regarded as a pivotal link in the investigation.
The probe has also highlighted Suraj Yadav, a PAC employee from Bansgaon, and his associate Pramod Yadav. According to STF officials, the duo allegedly bought weapons from the same source as part of a plot to eliminate a young man. Police are now searching for the firearms and tracing the contacts involved. Both men are believed to have gone underground after learning of the police operation.
Investigators have even reached Shashank Pandey’s ancestral village in a bid to locate him. The contacts he forged while staying in Gorakhpur are under close scrutiny, as earlier inquiries suggested ties to an arms network linked to the Bishnoi gang.
