Arms licence scam: R’sthan ATS seeks details of Home Dept officials

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 19

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Rajasthan that is investigating the inter-state arms licence scam has sought details of top officers posted in the J&K Home Department since 2001.

The ATS has asked the J&K Government to file a report of officers and employees, some of whom are allegedly hand in glove with the arms dealer concerned, along with their approved samples of signature and handwriting.

“Kindly make available a list of officers and employees who have been posted in the Home Department from 2001. Also, admitted and undisputed specimens of signature and handwriting in all forms of these officers and employees are required in a week for verification and examination of disputed seized documents,” read a letter from Himanshu, Additional Superintendent of Police (Investigation), ATS, Jaipur (Rajasthan), to J&K Home Commissioner RK Goyal. The Rajasthan ATS on September 11 arrested arms dealers Rahul from Jammu, Vishal from Abohar in Punjab and Zubair Khan from Ajmer in Rajasthan who supplied arms licences to customers.

The “Operation Zubeida” launched in May led the Rajasthan Police ATS to an inter-state racket involved in making arms licences from militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir for people across the country. Over 100 arms licences with a huge cache of weapons was recovered from raids at 12 locations in four states. Two senior officials of the Rajasthan ATS are camping in Kashmir for the past two days to investigate the case.

Acting swiftly on the requirements of the ATS, Rajasthan, the J&K Home Department has sought reports from several district Deputy Commissioners to provide details of arms licence-holders. “Our officers are cooperating with the Rajasthan ATS for effective investigation,” said a senior official of Home Department.

Officials say licences were being made in Kathua, Kupwara, Ramban and Jammu and sold at Rs 3 lakh.

Besides, the ATS has also sought the procedures and rules followed by the J&K Government for allotting arms licences and permits to gun shop owners. “These documents of procedures and rules adapted by J&K in the issuance/renewal of arms licences are required for the investigation of the criminal case,” reads the ATS letter.