http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/27 ... -in-india/
Illegal weapons trade flourishes in India
India is fast becoming a major market for illicit weapons. Insurgences, bandit gangs and street crimes are fuelling the demand for firearms.
Even the country’s tough gun ownership laws are unable to contain the spread of these illegal weapons. 85% of the 40 million guns in India are believed to be unregistered. They are responsible for over 90% of the firearm related murders.
In January 2010 The Supreme Court of India passed a landmark judgment upholding every Indian citizen's right of self defence.
Rahoul Rai, President of the National Association for Gun Rights has been apprising the government on the need for relaxation of rules for licensed gun owners who face grave danger.
Should they face problems they are likely to seek unlicensed ones.
Ever since the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 it is now very difficult to obtain a gun license. The rich & powerful politicians and elite of the country do not face problems of securing gun licenses as they are very well protected by the central and state security forces. The number of policemen per 100,000 people in India is 130. The minimum United Nations norm is 220. At this rate, India is approximately 600,000 policemen short.
An AK-47 assault rifle could be acquired for USD 9,000, while other automatic rifles cost around thousand USD. 10 and 12 bore locally manufactured guns could also be bought easily. The cheapest and most common are crudely make small pipe guns. They are usually thrown after firing just one bullet.
Experts say it is cheaper and easier to procure illegal firearms in various parts of the country however detecting their sale and transfer is a challenging task for law enforcement agencies unless they have very specific information.
