Delhi with a population of about 19.5 million has less than 30,000 arms license holders and this figure is slowly dropping each year! See http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9391
As late as 2003 the figure was 55,000+ arms license holders and the population of Delhi at the time was approx 15.5 million (i.e. 4 million less)! See http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=447Delhi Police officers however are in a fix over the circular. ‘‘There are nearly 30,000 licensed firearms in Delhi. Where will all these weapons be stored? And then we will have to depute extra people to guard the weapons when we’re already stretched thin arranging for the Games,” said a senior police officer.
Population data from - http://delhigovt.nic.in/newdelhi/dept/e ... /arhtm.aspDelhi Police estimates that the number of illegal guns is five times higher than the 55,000 licensed guns in the city.
The humiliating process of applying for a license, need for renewal every 3 years, frequent demands to deposit it, cumbersome process if one inherits a firearm, impossibility of getting an ALL INDIA endorsement, the spiralling cost of guns & ammunition etc. are all to blame.
Fresh Arms Licenses Issued in Delhi (financial year-wise)
2000-01 - 1679
2001-02 - 1517
2002-03 -1623
2003-04 - 1263
2004-05 - 1174
2005-06 - 892
2006-07 - 800
As you can see from the above, the total number of fresh arms licenses issued in Delhi dropped to less than half between the years 2000 and 2007!
The above data is from an RTI appeal made to the CIC, see - http://cic.gov.in/CIC-Orders/WB-05032009-01.pdf
Might also want to read http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2116
Cheers!
Abhijeet
