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CheersIllegal market for guns thrives in Delhi
Dwaipayan Ghosh
NEW DELHI: An illegal arms bazaar is thriving in the city and it is easy to procure a gun if you have the money and right contacts. From simple kattas (crude handguns) to sophisticated automatics, everything's available for prices ranging from Rs 4,000 to Rs 2 lakh.
The trade has changed in some ways over the last decade. For one, it does not cater to only gangsters anymore. As the events of the last few weeks show, even lovers with a grudge can find guns easily now. Also, the guns are made in India, not smuggled from China, Malaysia, Italy and Pakistan. While the more sophisticated weapons are made at factories in and around Munger in Bihar, the crude ones are made across UP.
Most guns are sold in UP and Haryana. Agents in Meerut and Aligarh dispatch them to areas like Najafgarh in southwest Delhi and Narela in outer Delhi, from where these are distributed, says special cell officers, adding, deals are struck on references.
The rise of outer Delhi areas as a hub of the gun trade is owing to their easy connectivity by bus routes, sources say.
Police data show how arms sales have slowly picked up. While 573 illegal weapons were seized in 2009, 634 were seized in 2010, and 770 in 2011. Till July this year, 463 guns had been seized. Ammunition seizures have also risen, from 1,165 in 2010. More than 1,035 cases were registered under the Arms Act in 2011 (up from 884 in 2010). The crime branch alone recovered SLRs, carbines and double-barrel guns while busting nine different organized gangs.
"The gravity of the problem is evident considering that only 1,129 new arms licences were issued last year while 11,758 others were renewed. The crime branch even seized 10 guns from petty burglars,'' said an officer from this specialized unit.
Time and again, gun factories have been unearthed in the capital. "An Indian Mujahideen unit was found at Meet Vihar. We would have investigated with great attention but for the fact that a gang war at the UP-Delhi border showed how even local gangs now possess AK-47s,'' said a special cell officer.
The growth of hundreds of illegal arms units on the city's outskirts and in neighbouring towns has made the problem complex. In west UP, gun manufacture and running has become an organized industry. The factories make every part, from butts to side covers, barrels and triggers using grinding machines, hand-powered drills and welding machines.
An officer told TOI that illegal weapons outnumber legal ones in the city eight to one, and more than 90% of violent crimes in Delhi are committed using unlicensed guns. "Guns are even available on rent. You just pay for the bullets and even get the deposit back if the weapon is returned intact," said a senior police officer.
According to a special cell officer, the katta remains the weapon of choice as it is the easiest to dispose of after a crime. "It is almost impossible to link a katta with a crime or a criminal unless there is a clear set of fingerprints," the officer said.
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