Chandigarh, Nov 29 (PTI) Punjab Police has lodged 137 FIRs so far against offenders for publicly displaying firearms, said a senior official while asserting that action was being taken to set up a deterrent against the glorification of weapons.
Inspector General of Police (Headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill also said district police chiefs had been directed to verify the facts properly before lodging FIRs against any person for glorification of firearms on social media.
Gill further said five FIRs had been registered in hate speech cases and one for promoting arms in a song.
On November 13, the AAP government in Punjab banned the public display of firearms as well as songs promoting gun culture and violence. It had also ordered a review of arms licences within the next three months.
Directions were also issued to register FIRs against those making hate speech against any community.
On November 26, the police gave three days to people to remove objectionable content promoting gun culture from their social media profiles, adding that no case would be registered till then.
Addressing the media here on Tuesday, Gill said 137 FIRs had been registered so far for public display of firearms and five for hate speech.
One can carry a licensed weapon for self defence but should not glorify or display it in a way to threaten someone, Gill said in an attempt to clear the confusion over the drive against the glorification of arms.
He said police’s motive was not to indiscriminately lodge FIRs but to create a deterrent against the glorification of firearms.
On the glorification of weapons on social media, Gill said district police chiefs had been asked to properly verify the facts before taking action.
“Officials need to properly verify whether it amounts to glorification of weapons, which type of weapon it is and what the person’s antecedents are,” said Gill.
Last week, the police came under fire after a case was registered against four people, including a man and his minor son in Amritsar, after they were seen holding arms in a photograph posted on a social media profile in 2015.
Gill said there were no restrictions on the issuance of new arms licences and carrying them for self defence.
He added that new licences were being issued on merit, considering threat perception and after proper verification.
There are about 3.45 lakh licensed arms in the state, he said. PTI CHS VSD SZM
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.