Poll code lifted in Punjab, owners rush to get weapons back

Aman Sood

Patiala, March 13

Within 24 hours of the lifting the model code of conduct by the Election Commission (EC), weapon owners are rushing to police stations and private gun houses to collect their firearms.

The poll code had come into force on January 8 with the announcement of the Assembly election schedule and ever since, complying with the EC directions, as many as 3,76,542 of the total 3,90,275 licenced weapons in the state were deposited.

“I’ve been spending sleepless nights without my weapon. As soon as the poll code was lifted, I rushed to the police station and managed to get my weapon after fulfilling official formalities,” said Bhalwinder Singh of Samana.

Punjab is among top three in India when it comes to firearm owners competing with the likes of bigger states for the number of licenced weapons despite prohibitive licensing measures.

With the storerooms of police stations full to capacity, weapon owners turned to private gun houses to deposit their firearms as per the EC guidelines. Another reason for choosing private gun shops is the cumbersome process of getting the weapons released after the poll and the upkeep in police storerooms.

“Getting a weapon released from a police station is a task. So, it’s better to pay a private gun house to store the firearms,” said a weapon owner. Many have chosen to deposit their firearms at gun shops for Rs 2,500-Rs 4,000 fee.

Another Patiala resident said he spent the entire day to get two firearms — one in his name and the other in his father’s name — released. “Spending over a month without a weapon is too tough. I was worried about its condition,” said Sukhwinder Singh, a property dealer.

Considered a status symbol for Punjabis, many families owned double-barrelled guns earlier. However, now barring a few, a majority of people own small weapons, both imported and country-made.