On the behest of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) the State Government has begun preparing database of licensed arms holders and provide them with UIN (unique identification number) before October 1 this year, failing which the licence for arms will not be valid. The UIN is to come once the licensed arms holder’s name gets on the portal of MHA which is readying a national database of the licensed arms holders in the country.
All that a licensed arms holder is to do is to furnish a detail on a format issued by MHA annexed with a copy of the arms licence. Palamu administration has swung into action. It has through advertisement invited detail on format by the licensed arms holders latest by April 30. The DC Palamu K Srinivasan has confirmed this exercise stating any licensed arms holders who do not obtain UIN will lose the validity of his arms licence on and from 1.10.2015. Srinivasan said a licenced arms holder is to furnish the details of him in a prescribed format now. The duly filled in format is to be submitted in the arms office Palamu collectorate he said.
The new format asks for information like birth district, birth state, date of birth, valid territory of arms, category of weapon, number of cartridges allowed, PIN code of the arms holder from the licenced arms holders. Srinivasan said the MHA GoI will thus oversee the licence and movement of arms . If a licenced arms holder takes out his arms beyond the valid territory then in that event this will be caught by a mere click on the national data base.
There are more than 5,000 arms licences issued in Palamu. Sources said a three fold of its are llicit arms. Sources said there are about a dozen families in Palamu where there are a dozen arms licenses.