Gun culture on the rise as cops sleep

Hyderabad: Wednesday’s incident of firing at KBR Park, in which Arobindo Pharma chief was targeted, not only highlights the rising gun culture in the city but also poses a bigger question on police’ lackadaisical attitude towards missing weapons.

The AK-47 which was used to fire at Nityananda Reddy on Wednesday went missing since December 26, 2013.
Ironically, an FIR was lodged with the Narsingi Police only on February 3, 2014. After that, no action has been taken till it was found its way into the hands of the constable, P Obulesu, the assailant. Unfortunately, there are no regular internal audits for missing weapons in the police department. When a weapon goes missing, the possibility of it ending up in the wrong hands is of great concern to police.

On August 5, 2014, cops arrested a formal Naxalite Bandaru Hanumanthu Rayudu alias Hanumanthu alias Sanjeev, 35, near Gandhi Statue in Chilkalguda area with a gun and three live rounds were confiscated from him. In 1995, he surrendered before the CK Pally police in Ananthapur district quitting the People’s War Group. A couple of years ago, hotelier Azeemuddin threatened a family by pointing gun at them. This incident was reported from Kushaiguda under Cyberabad Commissionerate.

According to experts, these cases exhibit disturbing trends including easy availability of guns in and around the city and the criminal mentality of some people who take guns at the drop of a hat.