Three dead, four missing as car plunges into Ganga
Three people died and four others went missing after an Innova SUV they were travelling in plunged into River Ganga on Tuesday.
Uttarakhand leads the Himalayan states in the possession of illegal firearms. This was revealed in the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report 2023 released online recently.
According to the NCRB report, 1,767 cases were filed in the state for illegal firearm possession in 2023 and 1,184 individuals were apprehended with illegal weapons. Only four criminals possessed licensed (legal) weapons. This was the largest number of illegal firearms in comparison to other Himalayan state, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir. Furthermore, NCRB report says Uttarakhand holds seventh position nationally for in keeping firearm possession.
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The NCRB report attributed this to the people increasingly developing inclination towards possession of firearms as status symbol. Apart from this, the growing culture of no hesitation for clicking and sharing photos or videos with weapons on social media is also responsible for earning bad name to the state.
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According to state police officials, possession of illegal arms is witnessed mainly in districts like Udham Singh Nagar, and Haridwar as firepower is used over minor disputes. What is noteworthy is that these illegal firearms are mostly used for criminal activities, especially murders and attempts to murder, stated the NCRB and corroborated by the state police authorities not willing to be named.
According to the NCRB report, the number of violent crimes such as murder, robbery, and kidnapping have gone up in Uttarakhand since 2021 mainly owing to the use of illegal arms.
The NCRB report recorded 3,162 violent crimes registered by the state police in 2021. The figure went up to 3,923 in 2022 while there was a slight dip in the numbers in 2,023 with 3,570 criminal cases involving firearms.
The NCRB report also talks of slow chargesheet process by the Uttarakhand Police in 2023. According to the report, the state police filed chargesheets in the court only in 58 per cent registered cases indicating that 42 per cent accused are still facing trials without any chargesheet.
The report maintained that the Udhamsingh Nagar district in Uttarakhand is highly sensitive to the firepower-based criminal activities for thrill and making stunt videos. Local police and Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) have repeatedly busted illegal weapon manufacturing units in the forests of Terai region. Besides, firearms are consistently smuggled into the district from across the border in Uttar Pradesh.
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