Want a gun in UP? Fall in line, 5 lakh are waiting

Welcome to Uttar Pradesh. Where the desi katta costs just Rs 4,000. Where the latest episode of guns and gore involved a student leader, a licensed gun holder himself, who was shot at inside his Lucknow University hostel.

And where, about 5,00,000 people are in the queue for a gun licence in 10 major districts.

Hardly a surprise, crime rate in the state has doubled this year.

Officials say each district has at least 25,000 pending applications. And, those such as Unnao and Jalon, figuring high on the crime radar, have over 1,00,000 pending applications each. Says Anil Kumar Sagar, District Magistrate, Unnao: ‘‘ The alarming factor is the number of pending applications.’’ Jalon, on the UP border, is a hotbed of criminal activity, with all major gangs seeking refuge in Madhya Pradesh.

The situation is no different in Minister Raja Bhaiyya’s Pratapgarh (25,000), MLA Mukhtar Ansari’s Ajamgarh (80,000), UP’s second-largest city Kanpur (30,000) and history-soaked Jhansi (50,000).

As for the rising number of women applicants, Rani Kanujia, a BJP block president from Barabanki, explains: ‘‘People in this state think a woman is weak and cannot hit back. I carry a gun as, in today’s world, women politicians are the most vulnerable. Look at what happened to our mahila morcha leader Malti Sharma or Madhumita Shukla. If a woman carries a gun, at least, there is a feeling of safety and security.’’

A gun, says Lucknow DM Aradhana Shukla, has become more of a prestige symbol. ‘‘The number of licence-seekers is phenomenal. But I do not believe the crime situation is all that serious here,’’ she adds.

Lucknow’s City Magistrate, R K Pandey, in charge of Arms, says they have to reduce the allotment of gun licenses to maintain sanity. ‘‘Still, about 3,000 licences had to be given last year, taking the total tally to over 50,000,’’ he adds.

So who are these applicants? ‘‘Small-time politicians, who say they are businessmen, form the biggest chunk. Then come government servants who cite the threat from local gangs as the reason for a licence,’’ Pandey reveals.

The favourite weapons, he says, are ‘‘pistols and revolvers’’. However, not all of them settle for the standard .32 bore pistol from the government armoury, costing Rs 60,000. ‘‘There are lots of people seeking imported weapons as well,’’ says Pandey.