Growing incidents of crime using guns and revolvers in quick succession in and around Chennai and elsewhere in the State show gun culture is making headway in Tamil Nadu. In a city where gangsters are known to fall upon each other with knives, cleavers or sickles, the incident on June 10 where a pawnbroker was shot at by two unidentified men in Medavakkam during a robbery bid has rattled police. An investigation officer was reported to have said this was the first incident in which a gun was fired in a robbery attempt in the city.
But he was not correct. On November 4 last year, two people threatened a doctor’s wife with a gun and escaped with Rs. 3.5 lakh cash and 75 sovereigns of gold in Anna Nagar. Earlier in January and February 2012, five robbers struck at two banks in Perungudi and Keezhkattalai. Later, they were killed in a gunfight with the police and it was reported that the police recovered five country-made guns from them.
Police are yet to make a breakthrough in the case where pawnbroker K Sunil Lal was shot at in Medavakkam on Jun 10. One of the two robbers opened fire at Lal, allegedly with a country-made gun when he refused to part with Rs. 5 lakh that they demanded.
According to a confidential report, while there are about 2,500 licensed guns, there could be about 3,000 unlicensed guns or pistols in the city, procured from States like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar where a cottage industry in illegal arms thrives. Country-made guns, pistols and revolvers can be bought in the black market for Rs. 5,000 to Rs.10,000 per piece, a police officer said.
An expert in firearms said advanced technology gadgets now helped skilled workers manufacture almost perfect weapons, blurring the differences between country-made firearms and those produced in a factory.
According to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) statistics, nearly 230 people have been arrested in TN over the past four years in illegal arms cases and 245 weapons seized. In 2015, the statistics revealed, TN topped in the seizure of arms, with 45 weapons seized in January. About 290 illegal weapons were seized in the State from January 2011 to January 2015.
In the Karnataka border district of Krishnagiri, it was reported in December 2013 that in Hosur and surrounding villages, incidents of murders and robberies were on the increase. It was alleged that misusing the arms license issued for protecting against wild animals, some were indulging in illegal activities. Many villagers in the taluks of Hosur and Thenkanikottai had obtained licenses for using country-guns for self-defence and to drive away wild animals destroying villages and farm lands. But nowadays using the firearms even for clashes on minor issues was rampant. In the last two years three persons were shot dead. Misusing such licenses some people were reported to be using even modern firearms such as pistols and guns and resorting to illegal activities.
In July 2012, D.K. organiser Palani was shot dead by some people and 14 rounds were removed from his body. Similarly in October 2013 on Kanagamani (30) at Ketatti near Anjachetti was shot and killed. On December 11, 2013, at Attapallam, Anjachetti driver Mathesh was shot and killed by his brother. One Kariappa escaped with injuries when he was fired at in July 2013 at Korattagiri near Thenkanikottai. A gang fired at and killed Ravi (40) and Thimmaryappa (55) when they were travelling in a car in Oct 2013 near Pagalur, Hosur taluk. Using of firearms for thefts and highway robberies were on the increase. Many were holding unlicensed weapons also. Police admitted that agents for delivering illegal weapons were thriving in the district.
If this is the situation in Chennai city and elsewhere in the State, there is no need to explain the position in the violence-prone southern districts.
People are shocked because they are told that Tamil Nadu is an ‘Amaithy Poonga’ (garden of peace) whenever the ADMK led by ‘Amma’ ruled the State, unlike North Indian states like the UP or Bihar known for their gun culture. The Veecharuval – a type of machete – is the traditional weapon of choice for settling scores. The aruval has a cult status in certain parts of the State; it is even worshipped along with the gods. The nagging question: is the gun replacing the veech aruval? It seems so.
It is alleged that whenever the ADMK ruled the State, the police were encouraged to obtain and use country-made guns to book persons disliked by the rulers in criminal case. During the earlier regime of Jayalalitha, journalist ‘Nakkeeran’ Gopal was arrested and jailed under POTA and the police claimed to have seized a country-made gun from his vehicle. But during the hearing in the court it turned out to be a crude firearm in which bullets could not be filled in and a premeditated case.
But are the authorities and police are serious in putting an end to use of firearms for crimes in the State, even while claiming that illegal weapons were smuggled from other States in north India?
In February 2012, five men suspected to be behind two bank robberies in Chennai in the previous one month were reportedly killed in a gun battle with the city police at Velachery in the early hours of Feb 22. Police commissioner J K Tripathy said the gun battle lasted for 15 minutes, from 1am to 1.15 a.m, leaving two police inspectors injured and all the five suspects dead. The suspects were identified as Chandrika Rey from West Bengal, and Vinod Kumar, Vinay Prasad, Abhay Kumar and Harish Kumar from Bihar. Two of them are former students of an engineering college in the city suburbs. Police recovered five guns and bundles of cash from the suspects. He said five pistols and two guns besides cash were recovered from the room they were staying. Though there were many unanswered questions about the ‘encounter’, the fact remains that the police did not pursue the matter to find out the source from where the firearms were procured in order to stop further penetration of such illegal firearms into the State.
Traditionally in northern States, guns are displayed as a symbol of ‘prestige’; it is not uncommon in rural North India to hear volleys of gun fire in wedding processions. Thanks to Hollywood movies and their Indian clones, guns are now a part of macho identity. These ‘soft persuaders’ have made guns more acceptable to society even as organized crime is providing a hard entry for guns into our daily life. Even kids seem to prefer real life imitations of AK47 automatics for toys.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, personnel of the crime wing of Saidapet police received a toy gun on Jun 12 evening. The parcel was addressed to the ‘DGP Office, encounter section’ and Natarajan, sub-inspector, crime, Saidapet. The parcel wrapped in brown paper, carried a black colour plastic gun used by children to burst roll cap crackers during Deepavali festival. Saidapet police, however, denied receiving any such parcel. City police sources said residents were upset about Saidapet policemen not acting on certain complaints and that the toy gun parcel could have been sent to take a jibe at them.
Abuse of law enforcement and criminal justice system provide hot house conditions for the growth of gun culture. Despite the recommendations of police commissions, police operation continues to be hampered by the interference of ruling political party and money power. The lumbering criminal justice system, with built-in delays and ponderous procedures, enable the criminal to use it to his advantage. In addition to this, we have nearly a third of the country is facing armed extremism of some kind or other. Weapon smugglers find them a lucrative market and illegal weapons find their way from neighbouring countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan or Myanmar clandestinely.
Guns are here to stay. So what is the way out? Political will is the fundamental requirement to combat gun culture. The rulers need to focus attention on curbing and eliminating their use by revamping systems and procedures to make illegal trafficking and use of weapons dangerous for the criminal. Elimination of guns should become an immediate task. Do we have rulers with the will to do so? 21 June 2015
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