Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): In a peculiar instance and that too probably alone in Ujjain district, the licenced arms holders have been denied their arms despite the conclusion of the General Elections-2024. The licenced arms holders, who are thousands in number in the district, have been moving police stations and shops of arms dealers to get their arms back.
However, in the name of the collector’s order, they are being told to approach the police stations or the shops of arms dealers only after 15 days. The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force as soon as the ECI announced the election process on March 16.
Like all districts of the country, the Ujjain collector and district magistrate (DM) Neeraj Kumar Singh had also issued an order (168/ADM/Reader/2024, dated 16/03/2024) thereby suspending all the arms licences of the district. These orders were issued as per the provisions of Section 17 of the Arms Act, 1959. However, relaxation in the order was given to the security and police forces, bank guards, etc. The licenced arms holders were asked to deposit their arms within three days at the concerned police station or the shops of concerned arms dealers of the district.
About 6,500 licenced arms holders surrendered their arms at the police stations and arms dealers’ shops during the stipulated time. But, when they started turning up at the police stations and arms dealers’ shops of the district right from June 6, they were denied their arms on the pretext that the DM’s order clearly stated that the concerned police station in-charge/ valid arms dealers will return the arms of the licenced arms holders 15 days after the accomplishment of the election process and lifting of the MCC. This tricky situation led to a lot of restlessness among the licenced arms holders as they had to approach the police stations and arms dealers’ shops, again and again, to get their arms back during the last three days in the district.
“In the MP Assembly Elections-2023 which concluded in the first fortnight of December 2023 and even during the previous Lok Sabha elections, we got our arms well in time. But this time we have been compelled to wait for a fortnight to get back the arms. This is not happening in other districts and despite approaching the senior officials of the district, no one is listening to us,” a licenced arms holder told Free Press on Saturday.
On being contacted, DM Neeraj Kumar Singh admitted that the arms should be returned to their licenced holders soon after the completion of the election process. “Let me check why such a situation has arisen in Ujjain,” he said though didn’t come out with the solution till 9 pm.
