Priest from Bihar caught selling pistols, bullets in Bengaluru!

Gowtham Pande, a native of Bihar, was arrested while selling country-made pistols near Marathahalli, Bengaluru City cops went in the guise of buyers and apprehended him. They have also recovered live bullets from him. Police are now on the look-out for his associate - Narendra Pande

A priest, who had turned into an arms dealer to make quick money, landed in the police's net at Marathhalli, Bengaluru on Wednesday. The arrested priest, named Gowtham Pande, is a native of Shekhpur, Bihar. Police have recovered a country-made pistol, a revolver and two live bullets from him.

The police were tipped off that Gowtham was selling the pistol for Rs 5,000 near Vagdevi School at Munekolalu. The police went in the guise of buyers and apprehended him. According to the police, Gowtham was a priest in his native.

However, he came to Bengaluru in search of a job in 2013 and was staying with his friends at HSR Layout, reports Kannada Prabha.

But Gowtham soon picked up arms dealings instead. In 2014, he was arrested along with his other friends, when they were planning to extort money near Panathur Railway Quarters. The police had seized a country-made pistol from them, then.

He came out on a bail and returned to Bihar, only to come back to the city in 2016. He took up a job in a 'Sulabh Shouchalay' in Koramangala. But he continued to buy and sell arms with the help of his associate, Narendra Pande, also from Bihar. The police are now on the look-out for Narendra Pande.