DGP orders quarterly inspection of all gun houses in Punjab

The DSPs are also required to conduct at least one inspection each year, he added.

“Rule 20.14 of Punjab Police Rules, 1934, authorises gazetted officers of the Police to inspect the shops, premises, and stocks of all licensed manufactures and dealers under the Arms Act every quarter,” Yadav said.

Despite being only 2 per cent of India’s population, Punjab has nearly 10 per cent of total licensed weapons at nearly 4 lakh. There are 13 gun licences for every 1,000 persons in Punjab, the DGP said.

There has been a huge influx of illegal weapons from across the international border and states such Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Although the weapons are illegally procured by anti-social elements, the ammunition is mostly pilfered from local gun houses, he added.

Yadav said there was an urgent need to enforce basic policing practice of gun house inspections by gazetted police officers to keep a check on the stocks and plug the pilfering of ammunition and misuse of licensed arms.

The Commissioners and SSPs have been asked to send district-wise quarterly reports to the armament branch of Punjab Police’s Provisioning Wing while all range IGs and DIGs are told to monitor compliance.

Earlier, apart from directing a review of all the existing arm licenses in the state, CM Bhagwant Mann had also ordered that if any license had been issued to an anti-social element, in the past, then it must be cancelled immediately. Similarly, it had also been ordered that no new license should be issued generally in the coming three months adding that a license should be issued only where it is utmost and genuinely required. The Punjab Government had also imposed a blanket ban on the public display of arms and ammunition, including on social media platforms.