Gurugram: International shooter’s arms license pending for years after he denies bribe to clerk

Officials in the Palwal administration confirmed that the then deputy commissioner had approved the renewal in 2022, when shooter Shantanu Thakur – who has represented India in events such as International Shooting Competition of Hannover and others

An international-level shooter has alleged that he has been unable to practise or participate in competitions for nearly three years because a clerk at the Palwal sub-divisional magistrate’s office demanded a bribe of ₹30,000 to renew his arms licence – a permit that has remained pending since 2022 despite all paperwork cleared.

District officials said the paperwork submitted for the 2022 renewal was in order and promised action if any wrongdoing was found.

Officials in the Palwal administration confirmed that the then deputy commissioner had approved the renewal in 2022, when shooter Shantanu Thakur – who has represented India in events such as International Shooting Competition of Hannover, Singapore Open Shooting Championships, National Shooting Championship Competitions and others.applied for renewal in April that year. As per government records, Thakur’s arms licence under the sports quota was first issued in 2013 and was renewed smoothly in 2016 and 2019.

District officials said the paperwork submitted for the 2022 renewal was in order and promised action if any wrongdoing was found.

Documents accessed by HT show that every procedural step required for renewal was completed except the final one — the signature of the Palwal sub-divisional magistrate. Police verification was carried out in May 2022, after which the Palwal superintendent of police issued the mandatory no-objection certificate on May 10. The deputy commissioner, acting as district magistrate, granted final approval on May 27.

The file then required only the SDM’s signature, which never came.

Thakur alleged that a clerk at the SDM office demanded ₹30,000 to process the renewal. “I refused, and he immediately said he would see how my licence gets renewed now,” Thakur said. According to him, the same clerk was later transferred to the deputy commissioner’s office, where he allegedly began raising repeated objections “to harass” him and keep the file stuck.

“From 2022 to 2024, I kept running from one desk to another. I later found out that objections were being added quietly and even the applicant’s copy of the objections was kept hidden inside the file,” he said.

He added that in July 2024 the DC office sought clarification from the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) on his shooting category and the authenticity of his certificates – despite the same office having approved the file two years earlier after verification. The NRAI replied in September 2024, confirming his credentials and stating that Thakur was an ‘international category” shooter.

Yet another objection surfaced in December 2024, this time seeking clarity on the number of weapons and the bores for which Thakur was eligible. He said NRAI responded in February, confirming he was permitted to hold up to 10 weapons — eight under the renowned shot category and two of any non-prohibited bore under Union home ministry rules. “I only have three weapons. But the clerk created confusion by telling seniors I could only have two, as if mine was a routine arms licence,” he said.

With the file still stuck, Thakur escalated the matter to the Haryana home department in April 2024 and later raised it at a Samadhan Shivir chaired by the Palwal additional deputy commissioner on November 27. An inquiry followed, and a recommendation was sent to the DC to issue the licence.

Thakur, who has won four international medals, seven national medals and 18 state medals, said the prolonged delay had severely impacted his career. “I am also a national technical officer with the Para Shooting Association of India and a Class-B judge with the ISSF. Yet I have been harassed for three years. Without a valid licence, I can neither practise nor compete,” he said.

Palwal DC Harish Kumar Vashishth said he reviewed the matter and found the documentation complete. “Thakur will be issued his renewed licence under the sports quota immediately,” he said, adding that a “proper inquiry” would follow. “If anyone is found guilty of causing the delay, action will be taken.”