Gun culture common in border districts

  • | Monday | 18th September, 2017

The border districts of Tamil Nadu remain susceptible to gun culture, mostly unlicensed weapons, though the reasons vary from protection from wild animals to extremism. Poachers held with country-made guns were using the traditional method of making ammunition with gun powder and iron balls as bullets,” said another police officer. Going by the statistics of the State Crime Records Bureau, Tamil Nadu reported five cases involving firearms in 2015 and 2016, in which one person was killed. In some parts of Tamil Nadu, imported or country-made guns are inherited through generations. Though the figures remain low compared to national data, the State has a history of armed violence involving banned outfits like the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Maoists, Al-Umma and Tamil Nadu Liberation Army.

more-in The border districts of Tamil Nadu remain susceptible to gun culture, mostly unlicensed weapons, though the reasons vary from protection from wild animals to extremism. Though the figures remain low compared to national data, the State has a history of armed violence involving banned outfits like the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Maoists, Al-Umma and Tamil Nadu Liberation Army. Going by the statistics of the State Crime Records Bureau, Tamil Nadu reported five cases involving firearms in 2015 and 2016, in which one person was killed. In 2017, the figures may rise since about half-a-dozen incidents have already been reported in the first half of the year. Police officers say the region from Dharmapuri to Theni districts is vulnerable to activities of Maoists, poachers, smugglers and other anti-social elements. In the early 1990s, police busted a small factory manufacturing AK-47 assault rifles for the LTTE. “There have been quite a few incidents in these districts in the past where unlicensed weapons were used to kill, hurt or intimidate. Though possession of country-made guns was mainly attributed to the growing human-animal conflict that has left several persons dead in the recent past, the intrusion of Maoists and other extremist elements from neighbouring Karnataka and Kerala cannot be ruled out,” the officer said. In some parts of Tamil Nadu, imported or country-made guns are inherited through generations. A few erstwhile zamindar families are believed to be in possession of guns that they use for self-defence or hunting; tribals in the forests along the Western Ghats are also known for poaching wild pigs, rabbits and deer. Trans-border trade With seven forest ranges lying close to the Nilgiris biosphere reserve, known for its rich animal population, widespread use of country-made guns has been reported in Coimbatore for poaching. Since 2014, the Coimbatore District (Rural) Police have registered seven cases related to seizure of country-made guns, all of them single barrel rifles meant for poaching. According to the police, the weapons were sourced from parts of Karnataka as confessed by those arrested in connection with the seizures. However, they do not rule out the possibility of the weapons having been made in Coimbatore or neighbouring districts as interstate transport involves risk. “Authorised arms stores demand details of the licence holder of the weapon while selling the ammunition. Poachers held with country-made guns were using the traditional method of making ammunition with gun powder and iron balls as bullets,” said another police officer. “In Coimbatore, we had found involvement of a particular tribe (Narikkuravar) which sources parts of gun and assemble them. Iron balls used in ball bearings, the size of which equal the diameter of the barrel, were used as projectile. They were using gunpowder to create the pressure for the projectile,” said M. Senthil Kumar who was the District Forest Officer between 2013 and 2015.

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