Gun goes off at district collectorate, triggers panic

NOIDA: There was panic on the district collectorate campus on Tuesday afternoon after the gun of a person who had come to apply for a fresh arms licence went off accidentally.


The bullet reportedly whizzed past a woman. People on the premises fled for cover and no one was injured. A police team reached the spot but the man whose gun had gone off managed to flee. Police found a used .32 bore cartridge from the spot and have started an investigation.

A number of people has been flocking to the district collectorate to get arms licences renewed in the wake of the UP government starting to issue licences again after four years.

Munish Chauhan, the SHO of Surajpur police station, said the incident took place around 3pm, when a number of people had gathered in the compound. “People were filling application forms when suddenly a shot was fired by mistake from an armed man’s weapon. However, no one was injured,” he said.

Sources said the bullet missed a woman, Asha Bahu. Officials of the district administration and police have started a search for the man but were yet to establish his identity till late Tuesday evening. District magistrate BN Singh said he had directed the police officers to launch an investigation and find the person whose gun had gone off. “The police are also scanning footage from CCTV cameras,” he said.

The Gautam Budh Nagar administration has received over 350 applications for fresh arms licences till Tuesday.

The government has also fixed the licence fee for revolver/pistol (Rs 58,000), rifle (Rs 37,500), double barrel gun (Rs 26,000) and single barrel gun (Rs 16,000). The applicant’s credentials will be verified if they really need a gun for their safety before a licence is issues.

Sources said crime victims, businessmen, bank establishments, armed force officials, politicians and sportsmen would be given priority.