The arms department of Lalbazar Police Station, Kolkata is in a fix. Just days after it arrested a private security guard for using an illegal Munger-made weapon, it has realized the demonetisation drive has led to an influx of hundreds of new private guards who are being employed across the city. Officers said they’re now planning to write to all of the sanctioned 225 security agencies in Kolkata asking them to provide details of each such guard inducted this year and the exact number of those who are authorized to carry weapons with them. The agencies will also have to furnish details of the weapons their personnel have in their stocks.
The fresh concern stems from the fact it has been a long time this sector was allowed to grow without proper checks and balances — several illegal security agencies coming up across the city and suburbs is one such fallout. The home ministry had earlier informed the Supreme Court it has constituted a committee for redrafting rules for issuing gun licences to private security persons, their deployment and also to lay down a standard operating procedure for them.
