Batala cops restart fight against crime, suspend 150 arms licences

Batala has earned the dubious distinction of being the “crime capital” of Punjab. In its endeavour to shrug off this rather dishonourable tag and also to bring down the crime rate, the police have suspended 150 arms licences. This has been done based on an elaborate exercise carried out in recent weeks aimed at checking the past criminal record and reputation of arms owners.

Persistent glorification of guns at public places suggested that Punjab was increasingly becoming a battleground for a narrative that entwined masculinity and guns. This narrative often led to violence. Keeping this in view, the Batala police launched this special initiative.

With the crime file getting thicker with every passing day, SSP Suhail Qasim Mir launched a drive wherein in the first phase people, who had FIRs registered against them, were asked to surrender their licences.

Till now, the police have collected 125 weapons. The work is in progress and more weapons would be collected in the next few days. The police have forwarded cases to Deputy Commissioner (DC) Uma Shankar Gupta for permanent cancellation of licences. The DC, on his part, has sent show-cause notices asking owners why their licences should not be cancelled.

The mandatory time period to reply to notice is 15 days. Sources say this time period is on the verge of elapsing and not many had filed their replies. If owners failed to reply, the Batala police would initiated next step of permanently cancelling their licences.

In Punjab, acquiring a licence to possess a weapon is a touchy and an emotional issue. The acquisition process starts from the DC, who signs a file, after which several departments are involved, including the Health Department which takes the mandatory dope test of an owner, before a licence is issued to him/her.

Several DCs claimed that they were pressured by ministers to sign files. AAP halqa in-charges and local ruling party satraps are also known to have asked the DCs to sign files.

In Batala, the crime rate has been showing an uneasy increase. The police opine that if a person is dispossessed of his/her gun, the chances of committing a crime by him/her are almost negligible.

SSP Suhail Qasim said, “This is a crucial step towards reducing gun-related violence and also to enhance public safety.”

FIRs taken into consideration

In the first phase, during which 150 licences were suspended, the police took cognisance of people, who had FIRs under Section 307 (attempt to murder), registered against them. Likewise, licences of four weapon owners were suspended, who had a murder case registered against them. Licences of 48 arms owners were put on hold for violating the Arms Act and of other 17 for causing hurt.