BHOPAL: Special Task Force (STF) probing the fake arms licence racket of Satna district registered 37 cases on Thursday, taking the total number of FIRs in the scam to 112.
Keeping all norms at bay, two clerks of Satna collectorate - Yugal Kishor and Abhayraj Singh -tampered with more than 100 gun licences between 2004 and 2014. The state government had ordered probe into the fake gun licence scam in Satna after the matter was raised in the Assembly.
ADG STF, Ashok Awasthi informed that first 25 FIRs were registered on February 13 and as of now their number stands at 112. On Thursday 37 FIRs were registered of which 11 are related to the licence which were issued by other states but registered in Satna without verifying the documents from the concerned state, said the ADG. Out of 11 licences, nine were issued from Jammu and Kashmir, one from Nagaland and one from Punjab, he elaborated.
The ADG said that though the names of two racketeers have come to fore as of now but the involvement of senior and lower level officers cannot be ruled out.
Interestingly, around 50 files regarding the licence have gone missing from the office and now the STF may register a separate case in this connection, Awasthi added.
Irregularities galore: It is claimed that in 10 years around 5,000 gun licences were issued from the Satna.
Allegedly various irregularities were committed while issuing licence like violating the norms of extending the area (states and also all India), giving permission to purchase additional weapon without following due procedure, permitting purchase of extra cartages violating norm, people of other states were given licence without valid reason, the licence registered or issued in other states were registered in state and their renewal was done and also the second copy of licence was prepared without proper permission.
