Illegal arms posing serious threat Prabal Kr Das GUWAHATI, March 29 It is a bigger menace than the police could have imagined, with possession of arms and ammunition and their indiscriminate use now emerging as a real threat to peoples lives in Assam. The recent incident involving the killing of a journalist in the heart of Guwahati has revealed how offenders have ready access to firearms, which they have no qualms about using.
With Parliamentary elections knocking at the door, the use of illegally-held arms is a possibility in parts of the state. While the administration and police can keep track of legally owned arms, they are absolutely in the dark about weapons that have never been reported. Significantly, many of the weapons that are illegally owned are far more sophisticated than those under legal possession.
Speaking to The Assam Tribune, former Director General of Police, Assam, Harekrishna Deka said action has to be taken to seize illegal firearms as a matter of priority. Identifying areas like Karbi Anglong, and parts of Upper Assam as particularly vulnerable, he emphasised that operations to recover arms and ammunition should be carried out much before the start of Parliamentary elections. He did not rule out that such weapons could be used against election candidates.
Senior police officials admit that the situation has deteriorated to the extent that they do not know how many weapons could actually be in the hands of criminals and surrendered militants, as serious attempts have not been made to carry out such a survey.
It is speculated that the number of small arms with individuals or groups could be in hundreds, some of them changing hands for money. More powerful weapons could be less in number, but the fact is they too are in possession of people not afraid of using them.
Even after a number of surrenders by ULFA and other militant groups, we do not know how many firearms have been retained by surrendered elements or sold off to third parties...for obvious reasons it is even difficult to arrive at any approximate number, said a former intelligence operative from the North East.
Although weapons and ammunition have always been available to a select few in Assam, the growth of insurgency in the region gave it a new twist. Since the early nineties the gun culture caught on among a certain section of youth, some of which even had training to handle powerful weapons not meant for civilians, and which were not very user-friendly.
Proximity to porous international borders has enabled the clandestine flow of arms and ammunition into the State. Moreover, police and intelligence have identified the border with West Bengal and Nagaland as two other entry points.
Those acquainted with the illegal trade have observed two distinct trends relating to possession and use of weapons in the region. Members of extremist groups have access to sophisticated small arms and automatic weapons, while common criminals make more use of less expensive country-made firearms.
