Arms licence applications of bank security gathering dust

Mohit Khanna

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Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 23

The tall claims of the police department of issuing advisories to banking establishments for beefing up the security appears to be a mere eyewash, as several applications submitted by banks for licences in order to keep weapons for the security, are lying with the department.

It has come to light that a file for issuing a weapon licences to the State Bank of India (Dehlon branch) was lying for over a year.

Naresh Gaur, United Forum of Banking Unions, said “That almost every bank was undergoing this ordeal. “I often receive such complaints from bank security guards and bank employees about the slow process of issuing the arms’ licence. I do not know the reason behind the issue. But the police take unusually long time for issuing licences to the banks.”

On the other hand, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Naveen Singla said licensing process was being carried out on fast track basis.

“We are responsive to the weapon licenes being applied by the banks and the job of issuing licence to the bank staff (usually manager) is being done on priority basis. If the file of a bank was stuck then some formalities must have left incomplete. And the bank must have been intimated about the issue,” said DCP Naveen Singla and added that ever since he has taken the charge he has issued six weapon licences to banks.Usually the files are stuck as the persons applying for the weapon licence does not undergo medical test or the applicant does not go through weapon handling sessions for procuring a training certificate.

“If an individual apply for licence, he/ she kept pursuing it and even grease the palm of lower rank cop for fast tracking the licencing work. But in banks case the applying of weapon licence remain merely a formality. Generally the weapon is issued on the name of a bank manager as the latter remains busy no one pursue the status of the file and process remain pending,” said a bank union member on the conduction of anonymity.