Patna, Sep 1 (IANS): The police in Bihar's Bhojpur district busted a gun factory in a village and arrested seven individuals involved in its operations, said officials on Sunday.

According to Bhojpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Pramod Kumar Yadav, the factory had been in operation for a long period.

“We received a tip-off about the existence of the gun factory, which was being run out of a house belonging to a man named Virendra Kumar Srivastava in Chanda village, under the jurisdiction of the Naya Bhojpur police station,” Yadav said.

In response, a special team was formed under the leadership of SDPO Dumraon, Afaq Akhtar Ansari, to investigate the matter.

“The team conducted a raid on the premises, resulting in the arrest of the seven accused. However, some of the individuals managed to escape by taking advantage of the darkness. The efforts are currently underway to apprehend those who fled the scene,” Yadav said.

During the raid, Bhojpur police recovered one pistol, 35 tiger plates, 36 corks rod, 33 barrels, 20 butts, three drill machines, one lathe machine, one grinder and three mobile phones.

The individuals arrested have been identified as Virendra Kumar Srivastava, who is considered the kingpin behind the mini gun factory's operations, along with Pintu Shah, Mohammad Azad, Mohammad Monu, Mohammad Abdul, Mohammad Raju, and Mohammad Iqbal.

According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Pramod Kumar Yadav, while Virendra and Pintu are natives of Bhojpur and Sitamarhi districts respectively, the other accused hail from the Munger district and were workers in the factory. These individuals were skilled in manufacturing country-made pistols and "kattas" (a type of homemade firearm).

SP Yadav further stated that an FIR has been registered under the Arms Act and various sections of the BNS Act at the Naya Bhojpur police station, and the investigation into the case is ongoing.

The police were investigating the links of the accused who were being supplied the guns.