How illegal trade of arms has given Punjab a licence to kill

Growing gun culture and a rising crime rate has swelled the demand for illegal arms and arms licences in Haryana, Punjab and neighbouring, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and New Delhi.

The Ferozepur Police recently unearthed a network of illegal weapon suppliers, who were active in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The gang not only procured illegal weapons from UP and other areas but also arranged for fake arms licences for criminals and gangsters.

Police sources claimed that they had busted an interstate arms smuggling racket. As Amar Singh Chahal, DIG police, Ferozepur said, "We have so far arrested nine persons and have seized 53 illegal weapons and 17 fake firearm licences, besides other incriminating material."

"Two of the arrested smugglers, identified as Palta and Sant Ram, in connivance with two Punjab-based gun dealers Harbhajan Lal and his son Kapil Dev, had made several fake arms licences for criminals hailing from Delhi, Haryana and UP's Bagpat, Ghaziabad and Meerut. They had also provided illegal weapons to them."

Ferozepur Police has conducted more than 100 raids since March this year and have found local politicians to be involved in the racket. Police sources claim that they had raided the farmhouse of the Bahujan Samaj Party leader Deepak Yadav in Gauna and had found a number of weapons.

Briefing media persons, Vidya Sagar, ASP, Bagpat, said: "Bagpat Police raided the farm house of the BSP leader on April 11, 2015 and recovered five arms licences, four automatic rifles, one pistol and 250 live cartridges. While Yadav owned one licence, four more were issued in the names of three others. Three out of five licences were also recovered from Yadav's farmhouse in Ferozepur."

This is not the first time that Ferozepur has been associated with the illegal arms trade. Sources say the CBI had recovered 12,000 fake arms licences a few years ago from various parts of the country, all of which were issued in Ferozepur, making it the hub for the illegal arms trade in India.

This has created worries that the gun culture, once thought to be under control, is now on the rise. Country made pistols (katta) top the list of illegal weapons seized by the Haryana Police. Sources said the price of a crude gun can range between one thousand and five thousand rupees and thus it is so commonly being used by criminals today. The problem has risen to such alarming levels that the Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan Police have held meetings and promised to work together to tackle the menace.

A meeting of the interstate coordination committee of senior police officers from these states was held at Sirsa on June 17. At the meeting, officers discussed the establishment of barricades to prevent both the smuggling of guns and narcotics into various states among other initiatives that would check the rising gun culture that was growing in these states and across the country.

"Criminals often use illegal arms for their activities, so the police need to keep a close vigil by setting up common barricades in the border areas. High quality CCTV cameras will also be installed at petrol pumps located near the border areas as well as at border barricades so as to prevent any type of illegal activities," Inspector general of police, Haryana, Anil Rao, who chaired the meeting, said.