Seized arms to be audited

In a move to check weapons seized by security forces finding their way back to the streets, the home ministry has decided to make annual audits mandatory for confiscated and obsolete weapons.

In a move to check weapons seized by security forces finding their way back to the streets, the home ministry has decided to make annual audits mandatory for confiscated and obsolete weapons.

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The audit, a home ministry official said, was prescribed in the draft policy to ensure that security agencies tightened control over the arms seized by them.

The new rule is part of the home ministry’s overhaul of India’s policy on firearms that aims at tightening the law to prevent misuse of licenced firearm and create a national database of all arms licences.

A dozen people die of gunshots in India every day.

The audit would have to be conducted for obsolete, obsolescent, confiscated, seized and recovered weapons.

“There have been instances where arms seized by security agencies in the North-East have found their way to the Hindi heartland, particularly Uttar Pradesh,” said a home ministry official. Sophisticated weapons seized can only be allotted to the army, state or central police force personnel, others can be allotted to individuals who already have a valid arms licence.

The new policy also seeks to create a national database of all arms licence holders — that would be integrated into the National Intelligence Grid at a later stage. “Arms licensing in many states is in a mess, a senior police officer said, pointing that MPs had pointed out that states such as Andhra Pradesh did not have a clue about the number of arms licences issued in the state.

This situation has arisen because the rules never required the district administration to maintain a database of all licences issued. “It has been decided to include a provision obliging the licensing authority to maintain a database and to share the data with the Central Government, which shall maintain a national database,” the new draft policy said.

It also seeks to introduce the concept of bulk arms licences to private security agencies – rather than individual guards – to enable them to deal with the heightened security challenges.

There is no provision of bulk licences for security firms under existing law. Arms Rules only provide for grant of licences to a company for protection of its premises or property.