Cops book 11-yr-old for ‘glorifying gun’, drop name after it turns out to be toy

The boy's father had posted a photo of his son on the latter's Facebook page in which the child was seen standing with a gun with a bandolier on his shoulder.

Punjab crime news, Punjab Gun Culture, Gun Culture in Punjab, Punjab arms culture, Punjab news, Chandigarh, Indian Express, current affairs

Approximately four hours later, the shooter, identified as a 16-year-old boy who used to study at the public school, was arrested by police, Espirito Santo Gov. Renato Casagrande said. (File/Representational)

In an overdrive to book people glorifying gun culture, the Punjab Police Thursday found itself in a spot when it booked four people, including a 11-year-old boy and his father, after they were seen holding firearms in a picture posted on Facebook. The minor’s name, however, was later removed from the FIR registered at the Kathunangal Police Station in Amritsar Rural after it came to fore that photo was uploaded in 2015 when he was four years old and that he was holding a “toy gun.”

Caught on the wrong foot, the Amritsar Police claimed that the boy’s name was never mentioned in the FIR. DSP Majitha Manmohan Singh said a police team spotted the pictures on social media and registered a case. “But boy was never named in FIR. He was mentioned as son of one of the accused. There will be no case against the child. We have removed it,” said the DSP.

The boy’s father had posted a photo of his son on the latter’s Facebook page in which the child was seen standing with a gun with a bandolier on his shoulder.

According to the FIR, police booked four people — a man, his minor son, and two others, all of whom were seen in the picture.

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News Agency PTI reported the boy’s father said that he had received a phone call from Kathunangal SHO. “He referred to the photo on my Facebook. I told him that the said photo was of 2015. I said the child was four years old then, now he is 11 years old. He told me to delete the photos. But yesterday, I came to know that a case had been registered,” said the boy’s father, a businessman.

Meanwhile, senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia slammed AAP government for registering the FIR, saying the child was only holding a big “toy gun”.

Police is finding it difficult to explain how they booked a child. “We registered the case after spotting video online. ..there was no bad intention” said DSP Singh.

The state has banned public display of firearms and songs promoting gun culture, including on social media.

First published on: 26-11-2022 at 02:58 IST