Shillong: More than 3,000 arms licences in East Khasi Hills district are yet to be renewed, Deputy Commissioner Abhilash Baranwal said, urging licence holders to come forward and complete the renewal process within the deadline set by the district administration.
Baranwal said the administration identified the pending cases from its records and issued notices to licence holders asking them to apply for renewal within the stipulated period.
“The idea is that holding an arms licence without a valid licence is illegal. That is why we are appealing to the people who hold arms licences to please come forward and get their licences renewed,” Baranwal said.
The district administration has also uploaded the list of expired arms licences on its official website, allowing licence holders to check whether their licences have expired. The East Khasi Hills district website currently carries an order directing concerned arms licence holders to submit their renewal applications in the prescribed Form A-3. (East Khasi Hills)
According to Baranwal, more than 400 licence holders have come forward to renew their licences in the last 20 days.
“We are still waiting for the others,” he said, adding that the administration may extend the deadline by another one or two weeks.
The earlier deadline for renewal was September 20.
Baranwal said stricter action could follow against licence holders whose renewals have remained pending for a prolonged period.
“Especially the arms licence which has been pending for renewal for more than two years, three years, we will direct the police to take necessary action,” he said.
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He said that after the extended deadline, if any, the district administration could direct the police to ensure that holders of such expired licences surrender their arms at the nearest police station until their licences are duly renewed.
Baranwal said there were also cases where arms licences had not been renewed for as long as 15 years. However, such licence holders can still apply for renewal, subject to payment of the applicable penalty.
The figure of over 3,000 covers East Khasi Hills district as a whole, including its subdivisions.
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