Maharastra police are exploring the possibility of levelling criminal conspiracy charges against Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart. In a recent search operation, the Aurangabad Crime Branch recovered a consignment of 30 weapons, 16 knives and 12 swords that were allegedly ordered online.
According to police, orders for most of the consignments were placed on May 16 by 24 local residents and the weapons reached a courier company’s office for delivery on May 21. The orders were placed days after Aurangabad witnessed clashes over rumours of water connections being disconnected, leading to communal riots on May 11 and 12 in which a boy was killed. The orders were placed under the categories of ‘toy swords’ and ‘kitchen appliances’, said police. The state’s Anti Terrorism Squad is also part of the probe.
ADGP (Law and Order), Bipin Bihari was quoted speaking to The Indian Express, said: “We are exploring all legal options for booking Flipkart for providing and transporting, knowingly or unknowingly, such dangerous material. Today, they managed to buy choppers and knives, tomorrow it could be drugs or explosives or any other hazardous material. A line has to be drawn somewhere and responsibility needs to be fixed so that e-commerce portals take precautions.”
Flipkart has not yet commented on the same.
A senior officer from the DGP’s office said that such consignments can be placed on other e-commerce platforms too. “E-commerce firms need to conduct due diligence and not allow the sale of such a huge consignment of weapons. We are planning to book Flipkart under Section 120 (B) of the IPC for criminal conspiracy.
The police sources said on Tuesday, that the Aurangabad Crime Branch has seized eight parcels, which contained eight swords, a knife and a khukri (Nepalese knife), from a local office of the courier company. It later seized 18 parcels containing four swords, 15 knives and a traditional dagger from another office of the company. Eight customers who placed the orders have been arrested and others are being probed, Report Agency.
“We are probing if there is a common thread and if the weapons were meant to create a law-and-order breakdown. Records of the customers and the company for the last five years are being studied to see if there is any link,” an officer said.
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