600 license holder possess 3 weapons each in J&K, MHA ask to withdraw 1

Amid the ongoing CBI probe, the District Magistrates of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have started holding meetings with their subordinates after a letter was shot to the UT Administration by the Ministry of Home Affairs directing to withdraw one weapon from those license holders who have been issued three by the DMs.
“Taking the cognizance of the violation of Arms Rule 2016 in which District Magistrates had issued three weapons to a single arms license holder, the MHA has directed all the respective state governments including JK UT to withdraw one weapon from them”, said an official source.

He said that as per Arms Rule 2016, the District Magistrate can issue one weapon and a maximum of two to a single arms license holder, adding, as far as JK UT is concerned around 600 license holders have been issued three weapons and in Jammu district, such cases have touched to 73.

Meanwhile, the license holders have been continuously facing denial from the offices of the District Magistrates in JK UT for the renewal of the same. It is stated that the offices of the District Magistrates refused to renew the Arms Licenses which were issued during the period of 2012 to 2016 on the grounds of the ongoing probe by the CBI. Even those whose arms licenses have been made online on the NDAL portal have been shown the door.
Earlier, in 2021 then Divisional Commissioner Rahul Langer took the cognizance of grievances received from ex-servicemen and many individuals regarding difficulties being faced by them in the renewal of their Arms Licenses and chaired a meeting of the District Magistrates(DM)s of Jammu Division.

He even instructed the District Magistrates to recommend all the cases whose renewal is withheld for not being made online on the NDAL portal to the Home Department, so that necessary instructions could be sought from the MHA, GoI.

In February 2022, the Jammu and Kashmir Arms and Ammunition Association (JKAAA) appealed to the UT Government to issue directions to all district magistrates to accelerate the periodical renewal of individual arms licenses in accordance with the Arms Rule of 2016. The president of the Association, ML Sharma had said that the trade activities of Arms manufacturers and dealers in J&K have almost come to standstill and for the last three years, they have no work.

Pertinently, there are about 31 arms factories and 180 arms dealers in the UT and since the fake arms license scam came to light, all those depending on these factories and dealers for their bread and butter are struggling to make both ends meet. These factories and dealers were contributing Rs.100 crore annually to the state exchequer but now they are on the verge of closure which may result in the loss of jobs for about 30,000 skilled/ unskilled labourers.