India votes 2024: DMs order deposit of arms

Aman Sood

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PATIALA, MARCH 17

With polling in the state almost over two months away, District Magistrates have issued directions to licensed weapon holders to deposit arms with the police stations concerned.

Interestingly, the police have a daunting task of getting the weapons deposited within the stipulated time.

Punjab has over 3.80 lakh licensed weapons — the highest in the country – and around 3.5 lakh arms licence holders. About 70 per cent of them are residents of villages.

3.8 lakh weapons, highest in country

• Punjab has over 3.80 lakh licensed weapons—the highest in the country—and around 3.5 lakh arms licence holders
• About 70 per cent of them are residents of villages

Usually, the process to ensure that all firearms are deposited with the police station or gunhouse begins almost a month before the elections. However, despite Punjab going to the polls in June, the district administration has already directed weapon holders to deposit their firearms.

In many districts, including Patiala, the last date for depositing firearms is March 22. The districts with most weapons are Gurdaspur 40,879, Bathinda 29,353, Patiala 28,340, Moga 26,656, Amritsar 23,201 (Rural) and Ferozepur 21,432.

Barring, special permission by the district magistrates, all weapons have to be deposited till further orders.

“Every police station accepts weapons of area residents and every weapon holder can approach a private gunhouse to deposit weapons. While the police do not charge for the weapons to be deposited, gunhouses can charge anywhere between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 per month,” said a senior police officer.

Another IPS officer said usually malkhanas (official storehouses in police stations) are full to capacity within no time. So weapon owners approach gunhouses that charge a fee.

“However, we are always worried about the security of the gunhouses. The gangsters are always on the prowl and need money and weapons. Therefore, it is important to ensure proper security at gunhouses”, he said.

A senior police officer said it would be impossible to get all weapons deposited soon as villagers were apprehensive about the law and order situation during the elections. “Already, thousands of villagers are protesting at the Punjab-Haryana borders them and getting their weapons is a tough task,” said an SHO, tasked with getting 350 weapons, falling under his jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, villagers say that there is no point getting weapons from them till anti-social elements have unlicensed weapons. “April is the harvest time and we have cash in hand after selling our produce in the market. Without a weapon in our farmhouses or villages, we are sitting ducks in case of a robbery,” they say.