Punjab DGP orders quarterly inspection of gun houses
Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Nov, 2022 01:57 PM
Chandigarh, Nov 18 (IANS) Close on the heels of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann directing review of all arms licenses to check the gun culture, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav on Friday ordered a mandatory statewide inspection of shops, premises, and stocks of all gun houses on a quarterly basis.
The DGP issued directions to all police ranges, authorising gazetted officers of the police to inspect the shops, premises, and stocks of all licensed manufactures and dealers under the Arms Act.
Apart from this, the District Superintendent of Police is required to conduct at least one inspection each year, he added.
Punjab has only two per cent of India's population, while it has nearly 10 per cent of the total licensed weapons which stand at nearly 4 lakh, or 13 gun licenses for every 1,000 persons in the state.
There is a huge influx of illegal weapons from across the international border and the inter-state borders from states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
Although the weapons are illegally procured by anti-social elements, the ammunition is mostly pilfered from local gun houses of Punjab.
The DGP said there is an urgent need to enforce the basic policing practice of inspection of gun houses by gazetted police officers for which they are empowered as per the rules, so as to keep a check on the stocks and plug the pilferage of ammunition and misuse of licensed arms.
Earlier, apart from directing a review of all the existing arm licenses in the state, Chief Minister Mann had also ordered that if any licence had been issued to an anti-social element, in the past, then it must be cancelled immediately.
Similarly, it had also been ordered that no new licence should be issued generally in the next three months, adding a licence should be issued only where it is utmost and genuinely required.
The state government had also imposed a blanket ban on the public display of arms and ammunition, including on social media platforms.
The SAD chief told the media here that the party would stick to its core principles, including the need for a true federal structure, taking all sections of society and people from all religious faiths with it. He said SAD, the oldest regional party with a 102-year-old track record, would continue to rise to serve the regional aspirations of people of Punjab.
Police have also recovered a cache of 55 pistols of .32 bore and .30 bore from their possession. The accused were apprehended from Madhya Pradesh by the Counter Intelligence unit of Punjab Police with the help of its counterparts in Madhya Pradesh.
Lingayat seer Dr Murugha Shivamurthy Sharanaru, accused of raping minor girls, was finally taken into custody by the Karnataka Police on Thursday night - six days after the FIR against him was lodged. Police sources said the accused seer will be produced before a court on Friday.
Taking umbrage at the Union Minister's new plan on how the future of Chandigarh would be decided, Badal said: "It is not in the ambit of Shekhawat to take a decision on this matter. This is a closed chapter. The UT status of Chandigarh is purely temporary pending transfer to Punjab."
Mann said in another significant decision, the state government has now decided to appoint Chief Minister Field Officers as Nodal Officers for NRIs to ensure redressal of their grievances. He said that these officers will prove to be an ideal Nodal Officer for NRIs as they will be effectively able to coordinate across departments and districts, besides having a direct communication with the Chief Minister's Office.
The passengers were later identified as Moshin Khan Saifi and Asim. Saifi was supposed to travel from Delhi to Hyderabad by Vistara Flight, whereas Asim was supposed to travel from Delhi to Dubai by Air India Express flight.
