Gorakhpur. The Special Task Force’s probe into an alleged weapons‑trafficking network tied to Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and Rohit Godara has widened to encompass local operatives in Gorakhpur. A total of 31 individuals have now been formally listed as accused, including a close aide of a regional politician and the son of a police sub‑inspector. Authorities are scrutinising the mobile devices, social‑media footprints and contact lists of those already in custody.
Investigators are painstakingly verifying the identities of the local contacts uncovered during the inquiry. They aim to determine the substance of the conversations these persons had with the primary suspects and whether they played any role in the purported arms conduit. In a related move, Gorakhpur police briefly detained the brother of a student leader for questioning, but he was subsequently released.
One of the accused is reported to be an associate of a Sahjanwa‑area politician, while another’s father serves as a sub‑inspector with the Uttar Pradesh police force. Following the registration of the case at Cantt Police Station, a series of raids have been launched to locate the remaining fugitives, accompanied by a thorough audit of phone numbers and social‑media activity extracted from seized devices.
The STF is now focused on pinpointing the local figures allegedly involved in distributing firearms that entered Gorakhpur and the broader Purvanchal region from other states. Phone numbers and online contacts recovered from the arrested men’s mobiles are being cross‑referenced with known networks.
Five Accused Nabbed on Monday Night
On Monday evening, STF agents apprehended Shreyansh Yadav (alias Bablu), Ajit Yadav, Abhishek Gaud (alias Bheli), Abhishek Prajapati (alias Abhi) and Rahul Gupta near Vindhyavasini Park. During subsequent interrogations, 26 additional names surfaced, bringing the total count of alleged participants to 31. While five have been taken into custody, the remaining 26 are still at large.
More than ten investigative teams are conducting coordinated raids across Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, as well as in Gorakhpur, Kushinagar and Maharajganj districts, in a bid to capture the fugitives. Shashank Pandey, a resident of Bihar, has emerged as a pivotal link in the case.
The inquiry has also revealed the involvement of Suraj Yadav, a PAC employee from Bansgaon, and his associate Pramod Yadav. According to STF findings, the duo allegedly procured weapons from the same supply chain as part of a plot to eliminate a young man. Police are now scouring for the firearms and tracing the contacts linked to them. Both men reportedly went underground after learning of the police operation.
The STF has extended its search to Shashank Pandey’s ancestral village, probing the network of contacts he cultivated while operating in Gorakhpur. Earlier investigations had already hinted at his connections to an arms network allegedly affiliated with the Bishnoi gang.
"Our objective is to dismantle every node of this illegal arms network, from the supply lines to the local facilitators," said a senior STF official.
