67 firearms stolen from gun house

PK Jaiswar
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, June 17

Unknown unscrupulous persons decamped with 67 firearms, including pistols and revolvers, from a gun house located in Jandiala on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. The incident came to light when someone informed the owner of HS Gun House, Satbir Singh, a resident of Partap Nagar on Sunday afternoon.

He immediately rushed to the gun house and also informed the police which also took record of the gunhouse into custody for an investigation.

According to information, there was a vacant plot adjoining the gun house from where thieves gained entry by making a hole in the wall. Besides weapons, the accused also took away around 500 bullets. Majority of the weapons were deposited with the gun house before the recently held Lok Sabha elections. The weapon owners were bound to deposit the same due to imposition of the model code of conduct.

Satbir Singh said that as the police had taken away the record, he was unaware how much weapons were stolen from the gun house. He said the police were investigating and scrutinising the record. He said the suspects also took away the digital video recorder (DVR) of the CCTV cameras installed there.

Jagtar Singh, SHO, Jandiala police station, said the thieves decamped with 67 weapons out of which 66 were deposited by firearm holders before the Lok Sabha elections. He said a case under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC was registered. The accused took away DVR so the police had no clue, he said, adding that the police were looking for CCTV cameras nearby to find clues.

Amritsar rural SSP Vikram Jeet Duggal said the police were taking it very seriously as the stolen weapons could be used in some criminal activity or may find way to the hands of criminal elements. He said police officials were told to identify the suspects and nab them as early as possible.