How illegal weapons, ammunition find its way to gun enthusiasts in Punjab

With over four lakh active gun licence holders, Punjab stands third on the list of states with active gun licences in the country.

Keeping a gun is more than a status symbol in the border state of Punjab, which is third on the list of states with active gun licences in the country. There are over four lakh active gun licence holders in Punjab, where one is allowed to own three firearms on a single licence.

Interestingly, civilians have more weapons than there are police officials in the state. The number of estimated fire arms owned by Punjab residents is around 11 lakh while there are 80,000 cops in the state police force.

Muktsar, Sangrur, Hoshiyarpur, Firozpur, Tarn Taran, and Amritsar districts own maximum arms licences.

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The love for guns has in turn led to a demand for illegal arms which are not only easily available, but also within the budget:

Illegal arms in Punjab are mainly smuggled from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Punjab Police last year had busted as much as three Madhya Pradesh-based illegal weapon manufacturing and supply modules. A main supplier, identified as Baljit Singh alias Sweety Singh, was also arrested. Baljit Singh is a resident of Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani district.