Govt turns a blind eye to `arms racket’

Despite the evidence piling up from all the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs, which was officially intimated by the Cabinet Secretariat about the “arms racket” nearly five months ago (September), is yet to take any action. Sources say senior officials of the Cabinet Secretariat have now taken up the matter with Advani.

The lid blew off the racket when the Cabinet Secretariat received reports from Maharashtra about issuing of licences to criminals. They promptly told the Home Ministry, which inexplicably sat on it, even as reports started pouring in from all over the country about similar cases being detected.

The list of 98 people who got these licences, available with The Indian Express, also establishes that the licences have been issued without any verification from the concerned state. Under the rules, for an applicant to get an arms licence from a state where he is not a resident, verification needs to come from the local police station. In all these 100 cases, this has been given the go-by. Incidentally, the arms licences issued in Nagaland are valid for use all across the country. This is another violation of rules as the Nagaland commissioners are not authorised to issue “all-India licences”.

The Cabinet Secretariat’s representation makes the above points. It is peppered with references to the “criminal antecedents” of those who have been given licences. Madan Bhaiya, the UP politician with an unenviable police record, was found by investigators to have got his weapon from Nagaland. Another TADA detenue, Santosh Manzia Shetty, a resident of Bhiwandi who similarly benefited, has nine cases against him.