MLC Elections: Hyderabad's Gun Owners To Deposit Arms

Hyderabad City Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar today asked all the licensed gun holders in the capital to deposit their firearms to the authorised weapons dealers in the city, and to inform the nearest police station after doing so.

In a statement, Kumar explained that the decision had been taken since the MLC elections in the graduates' constituencies of Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar and Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda were just around the corner. (The elections will be held on March 14.)

"We have instructed all the licensed gun holders in Hyderabad to deposit their guns to authorised arms dealers till the elections come to an end. The owners will also have to inform the police after making the deposit. This has been done to ensure that no law and order problems arise in the run-up to the upcoming MLC elections," he said.

The CP added that the owners would be allowed to collect their firearms on March 24, after the completion of the elections, and warned that those who were found to be violating the order would face stringent action.

(Kumar had issued similar orders in November last year, in the days preceding the GHMC elections that were held on December 1, 2020.)

Other precautionary measures were also taken - while Principal Secretary (Home) Ravi Gupta issued orders calling for the suspension of the granting of fresh arms licences, the Hyderabad police stated that no bike rallies would be permitted in the capital