Gorakhpur. The Special Task Force’s enquiry into a weapons‑trafficking ring allegedly tied to Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and Rohit Godara has now widened to include local operatives in Gorakhpur. A total of 31 individuals have been formally listed as accused, among them a confidant of a regional politician and the son of a police sub‑inspector. Investigators are scrutinising the mobile devices, social‑media footprints and contact lists of those taken into custody.
Authorities are presently verifying the identities of the local contacts uncovered during the investigation. Efforts are focused on discerning the nature of conversations these persons had with the primary suspects and establishing any direct involvement in the alleged arms network. In a related move, Gorakhpur police detained the brother of a student leader for questioning, though he was subsequently released.
One of the accused is reported to be a close 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 case registration at Cantt Police Station, raids are being conducted to locate the remaining fugitives, with mobile numbers and online activity under close surveillance.
The STF is now aiming to pinpoint the local actors believed to have facilitated the distribution of firearms smuggled into Gorakhpur and the wider Purvanchal region from other states. Phone numbers and social‑media contacts extracted from the arrested individuals’ phones are being cross‑checked against known networks.
Five Accused Arrested on Monday Night
On Monday night, STF teams nabbed Shreyansh Yadav alias Bablu, Ajit Yadav, Abhishek Gaud alias Bheli, Abhishek Prajapati alias Abhi, and Rahul Gupta near Vindhyavasini Park. After interrogations revealed 26 additional names, the tally of accused rose to 31. Five have been detained, while the remaining 26 are still at large.
More than ten operational teams are executing simultaneous raids across Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, as well as in Gorakhpur, Kushinagar and Maharajganj districts, to track down the fugitives. Shashank Pandey, a resident of Bihar, is considered a pivotal link in the investigation.
The probe has also surfaced the names of Suraj Yadav, a PAC employee from Bansgaon, and his associate Pramod Yadav. According to STF statements, the duo allegedly procured weapons from the same network as part of a plot to eliminate a young man. Police are now hunting for the firearms and probing the contacts linked to the purchase. Both men are believed to have gone underground after learning of the police operation.
STF officers have reached Shashank Pandey’s ancestral village in an effort to locate him. His connections forged during his stint in Gorakhpur are also under investigation. Earlier inquiries had hinted at his association with an arms network linked to the Bishnoi faction.
