The Kerala police on Tuesday seized 19 guns and 100 rounds of ammunition, from security personnel in Ernakulam district without licenses, working as armed guards for ATM services of financial institutions. Nineteen Jammu and Kashmir natives, 18 of whom working as security personnels, have been arrested by the Kalamassery police in Kochi. One of the 19 accused, named Vinod Kumar, is said to have brought the workers to Kerala.
Guns were seized as part of a drive to verify the license of firearms possessed by private security agencies to ensure that no illegal weapons were owned. The agencies have armed employees guarding ATMs and financial institutions across the state. On September 1, five security personnels were held in Thiruvananthapuram, for possessing guns illegally. All the five persons were reported to be Jammu and Kashmir natives, possessing fake licenses as per a preliminary probe. The decision to conduct the inspection in Kalamassery was taken following information that the institution for whom the security personnels worked in the Thiruvananthapuram gun seizure case, was headquartered in Kalamassery in Ernakulam district.
"We seized 19 firearms. They all are without a license. The guns were seized from the rooms where the guards were residing. A case has been registered," Kalamassery police told PTI. As per a press release by Kochi Police Commissionerate, the inspection was held at Sisco securities at AKG Road in Kalamassery. The guns and ammunition were seized from a rented house where the security personnel were living. The police statement also adds that since all the arrested are from Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, with the aid of Additional District Magistrate, more details about the license of the guns are being sought.
According to a report in The Hindu, though guns registered in the country can be used across states, it should be ‘regularised’ by the particular district administration they are in. As per the report, the agency working in Kalamassery has not regularised the use of guns in the state.
(With PTI inputs)