A report claiming that the Punjab government has stopped the issuance of new arms licences across the state has been circulating and the report states that the decision was taken following concerns over alleged irregularities in the arms-licensing process.
However, the position shared by Jalandhar Police is different.
Jalandhar Commissioner of Police Satinder Singh has said that no such instruction has been received by Jalandhar Police and that there is no order to stop the issuance of new arms licences in Jalandhar.
The claim of a statewide halt was reported, and according to the them, the Punjab government had instructed law enforcement authorities not to issue new arms licences, while renewal of existing licences would continue. The report attributed the information to government officials and said Chief Secretary K A P Sinha had given oral directions to Deputy Commissioners during a phone conference.
The report also said the alleged move followed concerns raised by the Enforcement Directorate regarding the arms-licensing process and it cited an instance in which an alleged middleman reportedly approached an SSP to expedite an arms licence application, however, there is no confirmation of such an instruction from Jalandhar Police. When contacted regarding the matter, CP Satinder Singh said that no such instruction had been given or received in Jalandhar.
However, Jalandhar Police has specifically denied receiving any such direction.
Punjab has a large number of licensed firearms and according to figures cited in earlier reports, the state has around 3.46 lakh arms licence holders, collectively possessing more than 4.3 lakh registered weapons.
Punjab accounts for around 2 per cent of India's population but has close to 10 per cent of the country's licensed civilian firearms, as per reports and the state has also previously taken action against misuse of licensed firearms.
In March 2023, more than 800 arms licences were cancelled as part of a crackdown on gun culture. Punjab Police later recommended cancellation of around 7,000 additional licences over issues including alleged glorification of weapons on social media, celebratory firing and involvement in criminal activities and more recently, the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate suspended more than 200 firearms licences following scrutiny of licence holders.
The action included cases involving alleged glorification of gun culture, celebratory firing, misuse of weapons and criminal involvement.