Constables in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district adjacent to Kolkata can no longer carry firearms, according to an order from the office of the police super on Tuesday.
Accordingly, constables on patrol duty in all 33 police stations of the district have stopped carrying .303 rifles.
The order is seen as a measure to rein in trigger-happy cops and comes close on the heels of the death of two villagers in Mograhat on December 1. A 28-year woman and a 10-year-old girl were killed when police opened fire on a mob that resisted an anti-hooking drive by the power department.
The order issued by the DGP and IGP instructed all kinds of RT (radio telephone) mobile/ patrolling duty officers to carry side arms and gas munitions/ rubber bullets. The order made it clear that in case firearms were required, senior officers would be deployed.
DGP Naparajit Mukherjee could not be reached for comments. “This is question related to security. Why should I discuss it with you,” said South 24 Parganas police super LN Meena.