Gun shops running without mandatory Sale & Keep licenses, administration sleeping

Gun shops running without mandatory Sale & Keep licenses, administration sleeping

Yash Khajuria                                                           


JAMMU, Oct 14: At a time when government agencies have launched probe in alleged involvement of some gun dealers in issuing fake licences, number of such shops in Jammu and Kashmir are running without mandatory Sale and Keep licenses. 

Sources have disclosed that the most of the ammunition dealers in the state have the licenses overdue as per the validation of the said licenses but are still running without any fear of the administration.  

It is pertinent to mention that a large amount of the arms possession licenses were recovered by the state police in past few months which were illegally issued at district levels.  At the moment as per the experts more than 20,000 skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers are associated with the trade, but because of few black sheep’s, they are casting their shadow on others. 

Pertinently in Jammu and Kashmir almost 32 arms manufacturing units and 400 retail traders had been providing employment to the unemployed. Also the trade has been contributing Rs 100 crore annually to the state exchequer by way of various taxes.  Since the people running such gun houses on the rent basis or any other liaison might not be sincere about the legal activities regarding the gun house licences as they should and they may perform such illegal deed may be unwillingly.  

Sources also told that it is a trade of networking that why some small dealer have put their licenses on rent to the big sharks of the trade.  But on the other side many A&A dealers has put their sale and keep licenses to the others agents on rent or on commission base in order to accelerate their income, since the said licences are the non transferable , convertible and saleable as mentioned in the chapter 5 of the Indian Arms Act 1959. But the illegal business is increasing under the nose of the mute administration.  

On the issue when contacted District Magistrate, Sanjeev Verma, said that due to various formalities there is certain delay, some times in the renewal process of the said licences, anybody who have applied for the same and whose licence for renewal is under process could perform the business for a while.  But if any offensive complaint were found against any of the dealer we must take the necessary action and may cancel the respective licence.