Chandigarh registered two cases every month of country-made gun or ‘desi katta’ use in 2018

On September 21, Bunty, a 27-year-old factory worker was injured when his roommate Ram Kumar shot him with a country made pistol ( katta or tamancha in common parlance) as they quarrelled over the rent of the accommodation they shared. He died on September 23. Days before, on August 15, a 26-year-old resident of Daddu Majra Colony shot himself, again with a katta, after a fight with his family.

The statistics are alarming. Of the 25 crimes committed under the Arms Act this year, 18 involve use of country- made pistols. These incidents focus the spotlight on the easy access locals have to such firearms.

While the police and deputy commissioner have to be kept in the loop when a licenced weapon is procured, with each firearm requiring registration, kattas can be acquired by anyone.

Such weapons are not made in Chandigarh. “The desi pistols are usually brought to Chandigarh from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Moradabad, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar are infamous for manufacturing them, usually in makeshift workshops,” says deputy superintendent of police (DSP) crime, Pawan Kumar.

A pistol can be acquired for Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000, no questions asked, he adds.

Of the 32 cases of weapons-related violence reported in the city this year so far, 25 have been registered under the Arms Act for use of firearms (knives were used in seven other cases). About 18 cases in which kattas were used were registered in various city police stations, the maximum, six, in Sector 36, followed by four in Sector 11. The police have recovered 50% of the weapons.

This indicates that on an average two cases a month involving use of katta were registered in the city up to September this year.

Some of the weapons were not used for violence but recovered during checks at nakas (police checkpoints), Kumar added.

Gun-related violence has festered in the city for long, says Jugraj Mann of Singh’s Gun Shop in Sector 17, which he has been running for the past 15 years.

Kattas are dangerous, he explains, giving details of how these are manufactured with pipes, “which is why some of them are known to malfunction and injure the user. Some are loosely based on the model for a revolver,” he adds.

The pistols can fire bullets of 0.32 bore, which are commonly used for other guns too, says Mann.

Making an interesting point, DSP Kumar says the police have registered cases under arms act in connection with thefts and robberies in which the criminals had used toy guns. “Even if the gun doesn’t work, the case has to be registered under the Arms Act,” he explains.