Punjab man arrested for ‘promoting gun culture’ after he uploads photo on Facebook; ‘it was a toy,’ says wife
The Moga police said they took the action on the basis of information received, and a verification is underway to ascertain whether Pritpal Singh owned the gun seen in the photograph
A case has been registered under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and under the Arms Act. (file) The Punjab Police arrested a resident of Moga district Tuesday evening for allegedly promoting gun culture on the basis of a photo he uploaded on Facebook.
The accused has been identified as Pritpal Singh, 40, a welder who hails from Chuhar Chack village. His family has, however, claimed that the gun seen in the picture is a toy and that he does not own it.
Mohkam Singh, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), Ajitwal police station, who is the investigating officer in the case, said they took the action on the basis of information received, and a process is underway to verify whether Pritpal owns the gun.
“A case has been registered under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and under the Arms Act. We will produce the accused in court and investigate the claims,” the ASI said.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Pritpal’s wife Kirandeep Kaur said he builds iron sheds for a living. They have two children who study at a government-run school.
“The photo described by the police as promoting gun culture was actually taken during his visit to Sri Anandpur Sahib around two years ago. He saw a toy gun in a stall, picked it up, got a picture clicked with it, and then put it back. He did not buy the toy gun, as it was expensive. He does not own any kind of toy or real gun,” Kaur said.
“We are a hard-working, poor family. Right now, we are struggling to understand what has happened. He has not committed any crime. You can ask anybody in the village. He is a hard-working person who even offered free services to construct a shed at the village school,” Kaur added. cu
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