Punjab govt's crackdown on 'gun culture', over 800 licences cancelled

Cracking a whip against the “gun culture” in Punjab, the AAP government in Punjab has cancelled the licences of 813 guns in the state.

SAS Nagar leads the list with 235 licences being cancelled followed by 199 in Pathankot, 87 in Ludhiana Rural, 84 in Faridkot, 48 in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, and 47 in Hoshiarpur. Arms licences of 27 people at Amritsar Commissionerate, and 11 at Jalandhar Commissionerate and many other districts have also been cancelled. Overall, the Punjab government has cancelled more than 2,000 arms licences so far.

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The state government has laid down rules that are to be followed to keep guns, said an official. “There is now a ban on carrying and displaying weapons in public functions, religious places, marriage ceremonies or any other events in Punjab,” he added.

The AAP government said there will be a complete ban on glorifying violence and weapons. Random checking will be done in different areas in coming days, said officials. There are a total of 3,73,053 arms licences in Punjab. The Punjab government says it continuously takes action to end “gun culture”.

The killing of 28-year-old Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala in Mansa district of Punjab last year had put the focus on glorification of guns in Punjabi pop culture, leading to calls for regulation. The popular artist, who had a whopping 8.1 million followers on Instagram, was accused of promoting gun culture as he is seen posing with weapons in videos and photographs.