E-Paper
Police personnel to deposit service weapons before going on leave: DGP
According to the directives issued on May 15 by Suhas Warke, Special Inspector General (law and order), the personnel have to deposit the service weapon with the armoury and cannot carry it on them during the leave period
The Director General of Police (DGP) office issued a directive to all the police commissionerates and superintendent offices in Maharashtra to strictly implement the rule of depositing service weapons by the police personnel with the state armoury before going on leave.
According to the directives issued on May 15 by Suhas Warke, Special Inspector General (law and order), the personnel have to deposit the service weapon with the armoury and cannot carry it on them during the leave period. Only under special circumstances like threats to their lives can the weapon be carried and that too after the Superintendent of Police (SP) or Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) rank officer verifies the reason and sanctions permission for doing so.
The directives come citing incidents of suicide using service weapons and a Pune city incident where a police official allegedly displayed his service weapon during a scuffle with a citizen on May 11.
On April 5, 2024, Bharat Datta Asmar, a 28 year-old-police constable on night duty died by suicide in Pune by shooting himself on the premises of Lohiya Nagar police Chowki.
The order states that incidents of police officials and other ranks dying by suicides with service weapons have increased lately.
Warke cited the official circular whereon Rule 33 of Maharashtra Police Rules-1999, Part-II Financial and Office Procedures, states the procedure for safe custody of arms and ammunition allotted to on-duty personnel.
“The heads are further directed to ensure that their staff members should not carry service weapons with them even while going out for official duty outside their jurisdiction without taking prior permission from the unit commanders and SPs,” the circular reads.
