Police seek weapon licence cancellation of aerial firing culprits

Sep 16, 2019

FAISALABAD: Police have approached the district administration for cancellation of weapon licences of people found involved in aerial firing.

During the last eight months, 94 cases were registered in eight police stations of Madina Town division against gun-toting people who had been found involved in firing in jubilation.

The Madina division superintendent of police sent a letter to the district administration recommending cancellation of licences of the people who used weapons for firing in the air.

The Madina Town and Millat Town police stations registered 19 cases each, 14 cases in Sahianwala, 12 Nishatabad, 10 Sargodha Road, nine Chak Jhumrah, six People’s Colony and five in Mansoorabad police station. Police also seized 55 pistols from the suspects out of which 43 were illegal.

A police officer requesting anonymity told Dawn that majority of the people found firing in the air were using illegal weapons. Possessing weapons without the government’s permission was a dangerous trend in society as this situation often created problems and led to killings of innocent people during aerial firing.

He said the government must take stock of the situation to save precious lives and deal with people possessing illegal weapons. He said the trend of carrying illegal weapons was increasing among the youth and, ultimately, they would take the law into their hands.

A police constable said the police officials themselves let go of such suspects unpunished owing to political or administrative pressures. He said police high-ups only moved against crimes after pressure from the government or the inspector general’s office.

He further said a number of times police officials did not move against genuine culprits despite having information about their identities.

(Daily Dawn)

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