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Guns cheaper than smart phones!
In an alarming development, more and more criminals are procuring country-made firearms and using them while committing offences, thanks to the ready availability and cheaper rates. In recent times, criminals who were mostly youngsters, used firearms for even offences like chain snatching and intimidating. A Telugu film director-cum-producer Bejjam Rajesh Putra was arrested on April 2 after two country-made 9 mm pistols and 16 rounds were seized from him.
- Two cases involving country-made guns reported during the last week
- Country-made pistols remain ‘weapon of choice’ for first-time criminals, youngsters
Hyderabad: In an alarming development, more and more criminals are procuring country-made firearms and using them while committing offences, thanks to the ready availability and cheaper rates. In recent times, criminals who were mostly youngsters, used firearms for even offences like chain snatching and intimidating. A Telugu film director-cum-producer Bejjam Rajesh Putra was arrested on April 2 after two country-made 9 mm pistols and 16 rounds were seized from him.
He later confessed that he bought the weapons from Bihar in 2010. Similarly on April 3, the Task Force arrested Md Ifthekar Ansari, a native of Jharkhand, at Brindavan Colony in Golconda area. During interrogation, it was revealed that he purchased the country-made weapon from his friend in Bihar for Rs 5,000. Moreover, Suryapet gunfire incident also witnessed assailants using country-made 7.65 mm guns.
Wednesday’s incident where a software professional Srilalitha, 24, was forced to part with her jewellery and cash, the first-time offender Shiva Kumar, 21, used a country-made gun which he purchased from Maharashtra. One of the major reasons for such crimes is the easy access of cheap firearms. “Firearms from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand smuggled through different channels can be found in the city.
Country-made and factory-made firearms, which have a better finish, are readily available at throwaway prices. We suspect that more than 75 per cent of the firearms smuggled into the city are procured from these States. Most of the offenders who are caught during raids by Task Force confessed that they procured firearms from Bihar and Jharkhand,” said a senior police officer of the Task Force.
Cops emphasise that country-made pistols are easily available for as little as Rs 500 while sophisticated ones cost between Rs 15,000 and Rs 30,000, much less than a high end smart phone. “Country-made pistols remain the weapon of choice for first-time and professional criminals because such weapons are almost impossible to trace and relate with a crime or criminals unless there are any marks of fingerprints,” the officials said.
By:Victor Rao
