The Special Crime Unit (SCU) of the Commissionerate Police arrested a sand trader on Friday following a raid in Balipatna on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, seizing two illegal semi-automatic pistols and live ammunition.
The accused has been identified as Biswajit Behera, alias Kalia, a resident of the Gobindpur area in Kataka district. Along with the two semi-automatic firearms, police recovered eight rounds of live ammunition, a Mahindra Thar SUV, two mobile phones, and ₹510 in cash from his possession.
Addressing a press briefing, SCU DCP Anup Kanungo stated that a case (No. 23/2026) has been registered, and the accused is scheduled to be forwarded to court later today. Kanungo revealed that Kalia is a habitual offender with five prior arms-trafficking cases registered against him across various police stations.
According to police, Biswajit had procured the firearms from Munger in Bihar. He had been absconding since Durga Puja after a video showing him brandishing a gun and opening fire in his village went viral. The SCU had been tracking his movements before apprehending him in Balipatna. During interrogation, the accused claimed he kept the firearms for protection due to his involvement in the sand trade. Police are now investigating deeper into the Munger supply chain.
Meanwhile, alarmed by the recurring use of illegal firearms in capital crimes, Bhubaneswar DCP Saravana Vivek M. announced that a special team has been constituted on the directives of the Police Commissioner to crack down on arms smuggling.
“The special team will re-examine all previous cases involving illegal firearm seizures to trace the origin of the weapons and identify the masterminds behind the network,” DCP Saravana Vivek M. said, adding that while significant seizures have been made over the past two years, police are intensifying efforts to dismantle the illicit arms trade completely.
