LUCKNOW, Oct. 29 -- Two shootings in the state capital within a span of just over two months have claimed six lives, but police are yet to establish where the accused obtained the illegal firearms used in the incidents.

In the August 20 killing involving bank field officer Manas Vajpayee, and the October 26 Saadatganj triple murder involving merchant navy professional Rishabh Shukla, police recovered illegal firearms but have not publicly identified their source. The cases have raised questions about how the accused allegedly procured the weapons despite having no known criminal record.

In Vajpayee's case, police recovered three country-made .32-bore pistols. In the Saadatganj case, the recovery included an illegal pistol, six live cart...