Unique Identification Number to be generated for arms licensees

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 27

With a view to check proliferation and misuse of arms and ammunition, licensing authorities in all districts will generate Unique Identification Number (UIN) for all arms licensees in the state.

This was disclosed by the Director, State Bureau of Investigation (BoI), Parbodh Kumar, during a special technical workshop here today with the licensing authorities and district police chiefs.

The workshop was attended by all SSPs and DCs of the Patiala zone, DIGs of Patiala and Ropar ranges and IG Zone, Patiala.

Addressing the officers, the Director, BoI, said the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had notified in Rule 11 of the Arms Rules, 2016, for generation of Unique Identification Number (UIN) for all arms licensees in National Database of Arms License – Arms License Issuance (NDAL-ALIS) system developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) with an objective to check proliferation and misuse of arms and ammunition.

In a release issued here, he said Punjab DGP Suresh Arora had decided to conduct state-level technical workshops for the licensing authorities and district police chiefs concerned to apprise them of the technical aspects of various provisions of the Arms Act to meet the objectives.

He said such proliferation was a serious challenge to the internal security of the country and the proposed UIN would create and update a dynamic central database of the arms licenses issued across the country.

The Director, BoI, said Punjab has the highest number of arms licence holders in the country.

“Being a border state and having faced black days of terrorism, checking licit and illicit firearms within the state was a priority for the state government to ensure peace, harmony and law and order for the citizens at large”, he said.

Parbodh Kumar said three more workshops were being organised at Bathinda, Amritsar and PPA, Phillaur, on May 27, 28 and 29, respectively.