Mad rush for gun licences in UP

Over 42,000 issued since January; 2.5 lakh applications pending ahead of polls

According to sources, over 42,000 licences have been issued so far since January while 2.5 lakh applications are still pending, with district officials under tremendous pressure to clear the backlog before notification for the forthcoming election is issued.

“The district officials have been flooded with such applications and finding it extremely difficult to cope as they are being pressurised by the politicians, mainly those from the ruling party, to expedite the cases,” said a senior official here.

In fact, Ayodhya Prasad Pal, a senior minister in the Mayawati cabinet, is being investigated by the state Lokayukta on similar charges. Pal allegedly recommended his supporters for licences, witholding facts.

Official records put the number of people in the state having arms licence at 10.68 lakh, a steep rise from 10.26 lakh in 2010. The authorities are particularly vexed with a sharp rise in the number of applicants over the last four months.

“It seems the people are rushing to get arms licences with assembly polls in mind,” officials said, adding that around 3,000 arms licences were granted in November. The officials expect to expedite about one-third of the pending applications before the election notification is issued, taking the number of firearms license holders in the state to 11.53 lakh.  Incidentally, licenses cannot be granted once election notification is issued.

Expressing serious concern over the scenario, the Election Commission (EC) has asked the officials to grant licences strictly on merit and resist any political pressure.
The EC  had also taken cognisance of a similar development during Mulayam Singh Yadav’s regime.

 It was revealed that the Mulayam government had, during its three year's stint at the helm, issued around one lakh arms licences. “More arms licences mean more trouble during the polls,” the officials pointed out.