Gorakhpur – The Special Task Force’s investigation into a firearms‑smuggling ring purportedly tied to Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and Rohit Godara has now reached the city’s grassroots. A total of 31 individuals have been listed as accused, including a close aide of a local politician and the son of a police sub‑inspector. Investigators are scrutinising the mobile devices, social‑media footprints and personal contacts of those already in custody.

Authorities are currently verifying the identities of the local operatives flagged during the enquiry. Police aim to decode the nature of the conversations these contacts had with the primary suspects and to establish whether they played any role in the alleged arms‑distribution network. In a related move, Gorakhpur Police briefly detained the brother of a student leader for questioning before releasing him.

One of the named accused is reported to be an associate of a Sahjanwa‑area politician, while another’s father serves as a sub‑inspector in the Uttar Pradesh police force. Following the filing of the case at Cantt Police Station, raids have been launched to locate the remaining culprits, with mobile numbers and online activity being cross‑checked against the seized data.

Five suspects nabbed on Monday night

On Monday night, STF officers 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 list of accused to 31. While five have been taken into custody, the other 26 remain at large.

More than ten STF teams are sweeping across Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and the UP districts of Gorakhpur, Kushinagar and Maharajganj to corner the fugitives. Shashank Pandey, a resident of Bihar, is being treated as a pivotal link in the chain.

• Suraj Yadav, a PAC employee from Bansgaon, and his associate Pramod Yadav have been identified as having bought weapons from the same network, allegedly to target a young man.
• Both men vanished after learning of the police raid and are currently wanted.

STF operatives have also visited Shashank Pandey’s ancestral village in a bid to locate him. The contacts he forged during his stint in Gorakhpur are under close examination, as earlier probes hinted at his connection to the Bishnoi‑linked arms racket.