Gurugram police: Staff of arms licensing branch removed after inspection

Although the police maintained that this action was to reorganise and streamline the licensing branch, senior officials said there had been several complaints of irregularities by the staff.

The entire staff of the arms licensing branch of the Gurugram police was sent to the district police lines, following an inspection by city police commissioner (CP) Sandeep Khirwar on Thursday morning.

Six officials, including head constable Naveen Kumar, who was in charge, were removed. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Although the police maintained that this action was to reorganise and streamline the licensing branch, senior officials said there had been several complaints of irregularities by staff. Apart from that, some informal complaints had also been lodged by senior citizens regarding lack of proper protocol in the branch.

Six officials, including head constable Naveen Kumar, who was in charge, were removed.

The arms licensing branch of the city police has been under the scanner since February 2017, after a fake arms licensing racket was exposed. The head of the branch and three other officers were found working in collusion with the arms racket mastermind Manish Bhardwaj, alias Kale, and arrested.

Khirwar, however, maintained that the staff had been shifted so that the licensing branch could be refurbished and reorganised on the lines of the verification branch and foreigners’ registration branch. “A single window system is being created so that applicants contact only the dealing clerk and there is no need for interaction with other staff. This will accelerate the process of clearing files and reduce delays,” he said.

The police said that action was initiated against branch officials after irregularities were observed in the clearing of files along with delays in processing applications and pendency.

“The arms licensing branch has been under the scanner for long and there were also complaints, which perhaps led to the administrative action. It is good that a single window system is being created,” a senior police officer said.

A person who had lodged an informal complaint with officials said that he had applied for transfer of weapons on their licence, but the application has not moved even after two months and several visits. “The staff not only delayed it but was discourteous and did not respect even a senior citizen. There is a need for getting this system online,” he said.