Times
of India: Meerut: Tuesday, 07 April 2015.
The last five
years have seen the recovery of more than 25,500 illegal weapons that were used
for over 1,700 murders, from districts in west Uttar Pradesh. The startling
figures were revealed in a reply to a ten-point RTI query submitted to the
information department of the UP DGP's office by activist Lokesh Khurana on
November 30, 2014.
His
application requested specific numbers of unlawful weapons seized across the
state, deaths caused by those weapons and cases registered under Arms Act,
among others. While pan-UP figures are yet to arrive, numbers available at
present are enough to paint a grim picture.
In the period
between January 1, 2010 and November 30, 2014, 13,573 illegal firearms like
country-made pistols (CMP) and 11,990 sharp-edged weapons were seized from
alleged criminals in west UP. Put together, these weapons accounted for 1,762
homicides in the region during the corresponding time period. Besides, 25,843
cases under different sections of the Arms Act were also registered in the same
duration.
The numbers
pertain to only 12 districts - Meerut, Bijnor, Agra, Rampur, Sambhal,
Ghaziabad, Etah, Aligarh, Moradabad, Amroha, Baghpat and Shamli. Meanwhile, 108
illegal arms manufacturing units were also busted in these locations.
"The
application was filed to get a detailed picture of crimes in the area. These
days, there is rampant use of country-made weapons in even the most
insignificant of clashes between individuals or communities. The figures that
have come up are quite shocking," said Khurana.
While the
highest number of weapons (2,716) were seized from Ghaziabad, which also
accounted for the most deaths (581), Meerut came a close second with 2,415
weapons seized and 332 deaths caused.
Etah had the
maximum number of illegal manufacturing units (18) busted, followed by
Ghaziabad (17) and Shamli (16).
Although all
police stations are yet to provide details, an analysis of available data shows
most seized firearms are of 0.12 and 0.315 bores. Weapons of banned sizes like
9mm, 0.38 bore and 0.455 bore, have also been used in many instances.
Alok Sharma,
inspector general of Meerut zone, listed multiple factors behind the
proliferation of illegal country-made arms in the west UP belt. "First of
all, these weapons are very easy to manufacture as they do not require much raw
materials or special tools. Secondly, this belt has a skilled workforce which
can manufacture these weapons. Thirdly, the manufacturing units can function in
as little space as a single room in a basement. So, it gets very difficult to
stop production. But, if we can put a stop to the supply of ammunition, the
empty weapons will be of no use," the senior officer said.
"The
government must bring in control mechanisms to be applied on gun houses which
are the primary suppliers of cartridges. If bullets are marked with the seller's
name and manufacturing date, it will be easier for police to identify suppliers
and tackle the problem at its source," IG Sharma said.
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