NEW DELHI, JAN 3: About half of the foreign-made pistols confiscated by the police in the national capital are purchased by politicians, while a meagre 10 per cent go to ordinary citizens having threat to their life, Home Ministry sources have said.While 20 per cent of them are sold to Central and state government ministers, 15 per cent are bought by members of parliament and state legislatures and 10 per cent by members of municipal bodies, the sources said.The rest of the pistols are sold to serving and retired government officials (25 per cent), serving and retired personnel of paramilitary forces, Home Ministry and ordinary citizens who have a threat to their life (10 pc each).Out of 29 foreign pistols which were sold by the government agency during the past five years, 11 were purchased by elected representatives including former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma, former Delhi finance minister and leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Jagdish Mukhi and City Welfare Minister and Congressleader Krishna Tirath, the sources said.The law enforcing agency had recovered 2,102 country-made pistols and 713 foreign-made pistols between 1995 and 1999, they said, adding while country-made pistols are destroyed, foreign-made ones are sold as per Home Ministry guidelines.
