Is state taking steps to arrest illegal arms inflow, asks HC

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 9

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has questioned Haryana on its seriousness in making efforts to arrest the inflow of illegal weapons and carrying out raids to check the menace in the state. The Bench has also called for a detailed status report on the issue. The state counsel has told Justice Rajan Gupta’s Bench that he would seek instructions before filing a status report.

Taking up the matter, Justice Gupta asked the state counsel to explain: “Whether any serious efforts have been made to check the inflow of illegal weapons in the state…. If any raids have been conducted and recoveries effected, this court shall be apprised.”

The directions came less than a month after the High Court was told that the Haryana Police on an average daily recovered almost six pistols and “desi kattas” or mousers in just two months. This was in addition to unlawful guns, revolvers, double barrel guns and 416 live cartridges recovered by the police from August 1 to September 30.

The information furnished before the High Court on a previous date of hearing had suggested that 7,532 illegal pistols were recovered since 2016. The police till July 31 this year recovered no less than 1,317 illegal pistols, 23 guns, 20 revolvers, 181 desi kattas/mousers and five rifles, besides 37 magazines, 2,126 live and 83 used cartridges. The recovery of illegal pistols was 2,072 in 2016, 2,053 in 2017 and 2,090 in 2018.

Haryana has squarely blamed its porous borders for the menace. The state, abutting the Capital Delhi, has Punjab and Himachal Pradesh on the northern side, Rajasthan on the west and Uttar Pradesh on the eastern edge. Justice Gupta’s Bench was told that most of the illegal weapons were smuggled into the state from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.

In an affidavit placed before Justice Gupta’s Bench, Haryana Director General of Police (Crime) Prashanta Kumar Agrawal had, among other things, submitted that a road map, after deliberations, had been prepared to curb the inflow of country-made and illegal weapons into the state. He had submitted that instructions on these lines would be issued.

Taking a note of the submissions, Justice Gupta had asked him whether the instructions would be under the statute or some constitutional provision. Responding to the query, the state counsel had assured that a punitive clause regarding departmental proceedings would be incorporated, for non-compliance with the instructions.

Weapons seized

• The directions came less than a month after the High Court was told that the Haryana Police on an average daily recovered almost six pistols and “desi kattas” or mousers in just two months. 
• This is in addition to unlawful guns, revolvers, double barrel guns and 416 live cartridges recovered by the police from August 1 to September 30.