Allahabad High Court Demands Full Disclosure of Arms Licenses Issued to Criminals

Mumbai, May 22: The Allahabad High Court has requested a comprehensive report on the arms licenses issued to individuals with criminal backgrounds. The court has specifically sought details regarding licenses granted to 19 notorious figures, including Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, Raja Bhaiya, Dhananjay Singh, Sushil Singh, and Vineet Singh.

Justice Vinod Diwakar of the High Court has demanded detailed responses from the state government and police officials across all districts concerning the misuse of arms licenses, the issuance of licenses to individuals with criminal records, and the public display of weapons. The court has also requested accurate addresses of all license holders with criminal backgrounds, along with information about their criminal cases, license details, and security-related information.

This order was issued in response to a petition filed by Jaisankar, a resident of Sant Kabir Nagar. The High Court expressed deep concern over the culture of weaponry and sought comprehensive information from the government regarding the issuance, renewal, and regulation of arms licenses.

Previously, the state government informed the High Court that there are over one million arms licenses across Uttar Pradesh, with 6,062 licenses held by individuals facing two or more criminal cases. This revelation surprised the court, which has also requested the criminal records of those individuals whose names were concealed in government affidavits. Additionally, the court has called for a complete account of the government security provided to these individuals.

According to an affidavit submitted by the Additional Chief Secretary of Home, there are a total of 1,008,393 arms license holders in the state. Currently, 23,407 licenses are pending approval. The court noted that 20,960 families possess more than one arms license.

The court has also demanded detailed information regarding individuals such as Raja Bhaiya, Abbas Ansari, Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, Dhananjay Singh, Vineet Singh, Brijesh Singh, Khan Mubarak, Ajay Pratap Singh alias Ajay Sipahi, Sanjay Singh Singla, Atul Verma, Mohammad Sahab, Sudhakar Singh, Guddu Singh, Anup Singh, Lallu Yadav, Bachchu Yadav, and Jugnu Walia.

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