E-Paper
30% drop in use of firearms in serious crimes in Delhi: Police data
Delhi Police chief SN Shrivastava said that efforts by the police personnel to catch criminals, especially those involved in the sale and supply of firearms, was a prime reason behind the decline in the use of firearms in Delhi.
Ten days ago, the 28-year-old son of a retired Delhi police officer was shot to death by four assailants in a car, who fired more than a dozen shots at the sedan he was driving in outer Delhi’s Rama Vihar. A month ago, a 35-year-old cash collection agent was shot in the arm and robbed of Rs2.5 lakh by bike-riding gunmen in north Delhi’s Wazirabad.
Until June 30, the city had recorded 292 serious crimes such as dacoity, murder, attempt to murder and robbery in which the criminals used firearms, which have been their preferred choice in Delhi, but the trend has declined in the first half of 2020 compared to the previous two years.
During the same period (January 1 to June 30) in 2019 and 2018, there were 415 and 405 cases of dacoity, robbery, murder and attempt to murder, respectively, in which firearms were used, according to data shared by Delhi police.
Police statistics show that the use of firearms in murder, attempt to murder, dacoity, and robbery cases reported between January 1 and June 30 this year posted a 30% decrease compared to the corresponding period of the last two years. Data show that firearms were used in 125 robbery and two dacoity cases while in 48 murder cases, guns were used in the last six months. Similarly, in 117 attempt to murder cases, pistols and revolvers were used.
In 2019 till June 30, there were 225 robbery and five dacoity cases in which firearms were used. A total of 54 murders and 131 attempts to murder were committed using guns. During the same period in 2018, in 44 murders and 134 attempts to murder, pistols or revolvers were used while 222 robberies and five dacoities were committed using firearms.
Delhi Police chief SN Shrivastava said that efforts by the police personnel to catch criminals, especially those involved in the sale and supply of firearms, was a prime reason behind the decline in the use of firearms in Delhi.
“Countering the trend of use of firearms has remained a top priority for me ever since I took charge of the head of the police force in February this year. I have a zero-tolerance policy against this gun culture and time and again it has been conveyed to my colleagues and other personnel during various meetings. We will continue our pursuit against gunrunners and criminals using firearms,” said Shrivastava.
According to police records, a total of 1,051 cases of dacoity, murder, attempt to murder and robbery were reported in Delhi till June 30 this year. Of them, 292 cases involved the use of firearms, which means in nearly 28% of the incidents, pistols and revolvers were used. The firearms were mostly guns manufactured in illegal factories in Bihar’s Munger, Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur and Khargone and Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut and Aligarh, senior Delhi police officers said.
In the remaining cases, criminals used knives and blunt objects such as iron rods, sticks, bricks and stones. The data related to use of these objects as weapons in crimes is not available but is being compiled, said a senior police officer related to the research cell, which collates data related to crimes in the city.
Factors responsible for change in the trend
The Sars-CoV-2 virus outbreak followed by the lockdown has also contributed to the decline in the use of firearms and has affected the illegal business of smuggling and supply of such weapons into Delhi from other states, a senior police officer said.
“Suspension of interstate bus services and limited services of passengers trains to and from Delhi due to the Covid-19 outbreak has hit the gunrunners’ business. They mostly preferred interstate buses and private vehicles for transporting illegal guns. But buses are still not operational and checking of private vehicles was intensified during and after the lockdown. The gunrunners have now begun using trucks carrying goods for smuggling of illegal firearms,” a special cell officer instrumental in busting many inter-state gunrunning rackets said, requesting anonymity.
Police data shows that 1,172 firearms had been seized this year till June 30, which is 360 fewer than the number recovered during the same period last year. It is 149 more than the recovery of firearms made in 2018.
“Their {police} conclusion that use of firearms decreased because the smuggling of such weapons was affected due to the lockdown is fallacious. In reality, Sars-CoV-2 virus outbreak resulted in a decrease in crimes not only in Delhi but other states as well,” said former Uttar Pradesh director general of police Vikram Singh.
