Stricter law and persistent crackdown help Delhi cops cut supply of illegal arms

The Arms Act was amended in 2019, and now under section 25(8) people involved in illegal trafficking of firearms and ammunition may be punished for at least 10 years. Earlier, the maximum punishment under the law was three years.

A crime involving one or multiple firearms was reported every 16 hours in Delhi in 2021, even as the use of weapons in crimes such as murder, attempt to murder, dacoity or robbery saw a decline from the previous two years – 2020 and 2019 – showed Delhi Police’s annual police data for 2021 presented on Thursday by police commissioner Rakesh Asthana.

The city police arrested 3,527 people in 2,923 cases related to use of firearms or possessing such weapons in 2021. A total of 2,074 firearms and 8,939 ammunition were seized from them during the year, the data shows. (Representative image/HT Archive)

In 2021, the city witnessed 545 crimes in which the alleged perpetrators used firearms, mostly illegal pistols or revolvers manufactured at unauthorised firearms manufacturing units based in Madhya Pradesh, western Uttar Pradesh and Bihar’s Munger. And, in 2020, firearms were used in 602 crimes in Delhi. The number of such crimes was 670 in 2019, the data shows.

The city police arrested 3,527 people in 2,923 cases related to use of firearms or possessing such weapons in 2021. A total of 2,074 firearms and 8,939 ammunition were seized from them during the year, the data shows.

Senior police officers have attributed the decline in the trend of use of illegal weapons in crimes reported in Delhi to persistent crackdown on gangs of illegal gunrunners and invocation of the amended Arms Act that enables the police to keep such criminals in jails for longer and term, and deny an easy bail.

They also said that besides enabling local gangs perpetrate heinous crimes, uninhibited supply of arms and weapons are a threat to the safety the city residents.

The Arms Act was amended in 2019, and now under section 25(8) people involved in illegal trafficking of firearms and ammunition may be punished for at least 10 years. Earlier, the maximum punishment under the law was three years.

Between 2020 and 2021, teams of the Special Cell -- police unit that handles the terrorism, gangsters and organised crimes related cases --- arrested 31 gunrunners and booked them under section 25 (8) of the Arms (Amendment) Act, 2019. A total of 271 illegal firearms and more than 700 cartridges were seized from them.

All the arrested people were members of organised syndicates that are involved in manufacturing, procurement, and sale of illicit firearms to criminals in Delhi and the adjoining states, said a special cell police officer, who was part of many police operations leading to the arrests of gunrunners and recovery of arms and ammunition.

“The clients of these arrested unauthorised arms dealers are associates of gangsters such as Kapil Sangwan, Neeraj Bawana, Sunil Tajpuriya alias Tillu, Kala Jatheri, Lawrence Bishnoi, Sampat Nehra and many more who are operating their gangs in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand. Some of these gunrunners were also arrested earlier but they got bail soon, and resumed their trade,” the officer said.

The interrogation reports of some of the arrested gunrunners show that many of them supplied 500 to 1,500 weapons to criminals in Delhi and its adjoining states in the past three to five years. One such arrest in January – of Shakil alias Sherni who was a key supplier of firearms to Kapil Sangwan gang – also led to the busting of an Aligarh-based illegal firearms manufacturing unit that produced four to five pistols every day, and supplied nearly 1,000 guns to criminals in Delhi and adjoining states each year.

On September 3, 2021, the Special Cell officers arrested a Mewat-based arms dealer, 39-year-old Ishab (first name), with 15 pistols and 30 cartridges. His interrogation revealed that he had supplied over 500 firearms to criminals in Delhi-NCR between 2018 and 2021. Similarly, a recently arrested gunrunner, Mohammad Kasim, was active for over 15 years and supplied nearly 500 firearms to criminals in Delhi-NCR in the past three years, the officer said.

Last month, the special cell arrested Haji Shamim, who is infamous as “Shamim Pistol” among criminals, has been active for over 10 years and his gang is one of the key suppliers of firearms to criminals in Delhi-NCR. His association with terrorist outfits active in J&K also emerged during investigation of social activist, Sushil Pandit’s foiled assassination bid last year.

How the new law helped

In mid-December 2019, the central government enacted the amended Arms Act. As per section 25(8) of the Arms (Amendment) Act, “whosoever involves in or aide in the illicit trafficking of firearms and ammunition in contravention of sections 3, 5, 6, 7 and 11 shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.”

This came in handy for the police to act against repeat offender as well members of large illegal arms syndicates. As a result, the special cell alone arrested and booked 31 gunrunners in 18 cases in the next two years. The other units and local police also invoked the amended law against arms dealers and suppliers but the data on their arrests is not readily available.

“The actions taken under section 25(8) of the Arms (Amendment) Act has a deterrent effect as many of those booked under this law haven’t got bail and are still behind the bars. Our special cell teams have been keeping a sharp vigil on the activities of gunrunners in specific areas of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to nab them and keep illicit firearms out of circulation. The crackdowns will continue,” said deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Jasmeet Singh.

A senior officer who has been handling such cases said that prosecuting offender under the old law was difficult, and in several cases the criminals got bail in less than a month.

“However, the new law is helping us nail the entire chain of manufacturers, suppliers, buyers and even the agents who are facilitating the deals without physically possessing the weapons. It is working as a deterrent,” said the officer. In the amended section 25, “obtains” and “procures” has been added besides “manufactures”, enabling the police to book the users of illegal weapons as well as those making them.

Expert call it empowering

Legal experts said the new provisions of the Arms (Amendment) Act were enacted keeping in view the rising gun culture across the country, especially in metropolitan cities like Delhi, but its objective will be achieved only if the police do not misuse the laws.

“Procuring an illicit firearm is becoming easier these days, but the use of such weapons in crimes has become a trend that is what is really alarming, as it compromises the safety and security of citizens. Now that the police have began invoking the amended laws (section 25(8) of the Arms Act against gunrunners, it will certainly discourage the illegal trade and easy availability of guns. However, the police should refrain from misusing the laws, as their excessive use will defeat the purpose for which the amendments were made,” said advocate Karan Singh, former secretary and vice-president of New Delhi Bar Association.