Gun Toters on the Rise in Kerala

The New Indian Express: THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Saturday, April 19, 2014.

Are more Keralites opting to take weapon licences? Going by the recent figures, the state has recorded an increase in the number of gun-toters.

As many as 791 new arms licences were issued in the past four years, with Kottayam topping the list with 142 licences.

Earlier, an RTI info had revealed that a total of 39,444 gun licences were issued across the state till August 2009.

Of the 791 licences for fire-arms which were issued by the state government after August 2009, as many as thirteen were given by the State Home Department.

While the licences issued by the State Home Secretary have a jurisdiction across the country, those issued by the District Magistrates can be used only in the state, according to information collected under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by Kochi-based NGO ‘The Proper Channel’.

Interestingly, the politically volatile district of Kannur has only 21 gun licences issued after August 2009.

In Palakkad, a total of 92 licences were renewed between 2009 and 2013.  “When it comes to licences issued by district authorities, like in the past, Kottayam tops the list. As per an earlier RTI info in 2009,

7,101 people in the district have gun licences out of 39,444 in Kerala. Ernakulam comes second with 5,800 licences, closely followed by Kasargod with 5,634 licences. During that period, Idukki (1,295) and Palakkad (1,811) had more number of people possessing gun licences,” said M K Haridas of ‘The Proper Channel’, who collected the info under RTI.

Generally, weapon licences are issued for possessing pistols, revolvers, rifles, switch-load and muscle-load (single and double barrel) under the Arms Act 1959 and the Indian Arms Rules 1962.

The weapon licences are issued based on the recommendations by the Police Department, as well as the Revenue and Forest departments.