At least three women rushed to the Delhi Police to seek an arms licence in the aftermath of the brutal December 16 gangrape, police said on Tuesday. Two of these applicants, police said, had visited the licensing branch — one to apply for a fresh licence and the other for licence renewal.

But the Delhi Police did say that the number of female applicants saw a decline of 14%. Merely 44 applications were received from them in 2012 as opposed to 51 in 2011. "Of 51 applications received last year, 33, i.e 65%, were granted licences. This year, we received only 44 applications. Around 54.5% of these applicants were issued licences," said an officer.

When it comes to other applicants, however, the number of licences issued saw a surge. In 2009, 1,206 persons applied for the grant of fresh arms licenses. This year, the same number of applications was received till just July 30. Businessmen and security guards formed a chunk of these applicants, police said.

"It is incorrect to report that the unfortunate incident triggered a surge in gun licence requests from women, as has been reported by some sections of the media. The news item caters to sensationalism and unnecessarily creates panic, particularly among the women folk," said Rajan Bhagat, additional DCP and spokesperson, Delhi Police.