3 held, 9 booked for flaunting arms on social media in Punjab
Two revolvers, car seized; Punjab police monitoring activities of anti-social elements and people brandishing weapons on online platforms such as Instagram
THE STATE GOVERNMENT HAD ON NOVEMBER 13 ISSUED ORDERS CLAMPING DOWN ON GUN CULTURE AND VIOLENCE
PATHANKOT/PATIALA : Punjab Police have arrested three persons and booked nine others for violating the state government’s ban on public display of firearms and songs promoting gun culture.
The state government had on November 13 issued orders clamping down on gun culture and violence, as it tightened regulation after facing flak from the opposition over the law and order situation in the backdrop of targeted killings in Amritsar and Faridkot.
The Pathankot police have arrested three persons, identified as Gagandeep Singh and Lakhwinder Singh of New Tharial village and Ashok Kumar of Kashmiri Mohalla, Sujanpur, for flashing firarms on the social media, said senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh. He said a special social media team was formed to monitor the activities of anti-social elements and people glorifying weapons on social media platforms.
“The team discovered a video of the offenders glorifying weapons on Instagram and filed a criminal case against them at ShahpurKandi,
Pathankot police stations. Two .32 bore revolver and the Safari car seen in the video have been seized. During interrogation, the accused confessed that the weapons belonged to them”, he added.
They had been regularly posting videos of Punjabi songs brandishing guns on the Instagram account, said Khakh.
Police teams have been conducting raids to arrest more persons found using Instagram reels glorifying weapons. We have also written to the district administration to cancel the arms licences of the offenders, the SSP said.
FIR against six in Patiala
The Patiala police have booked six persons for allegedly promoting gun culture on social media. The accused have been identified as Amrinder Singh, Sukhdeep Singh, Vipan, Rajesh Kumar, Harsh Goyal and Chitwinder Singh, all residents of the Patiala district. SSP Varun Sharma said those who create an environment of fear by promoting gun culture on social media will not be spared.
Sharma while addressing a press conference said that the accused Amrinder Singh, uploaded his various pictures with weapons. Similarly, Sukhdeep Singh also posted his photos with weapons and also issued threats to some people. He further said that the pistol used by Sukhdeep to flaunt on the social media, registered in the name of Chitwinder Singh, resident of Patiala, who was also named as accused in the case.
3 FIRs in Ludhiana
Similarly, the Ludhiana police have registered three FIRs against residents of Samrala and Machhiwara for posing with firearms on social networking sites.
The state government had also recently ordered a review of the licences within three months.
On the directions of chief minister Bhagwant Mann, police have started an extensive drive for verification of licensed arms. It has been observed that many weapons have been issued on fake addresses,” DGP Gaurav Yadav said in a video message on Tuesday. He added that all such licences would be cancelled. The Jalandhar and Patiala administrations have already cancelled 391 and 274 arms licences, respectively.