Dangerous loopholes in the Indian Arms Act need to be addressed urgently, warned the Control Arms Foundation of India (CAFI). Arms experts, activists, lawyers and teachers urged the government to tighten gun laws at a conference organised by CAFI in New Delhi on 6 February.
The conference was organised in response to events at a school in Gurgaon in December, when two students killed a classmate with a pistol stolen from a parent. It was the third school shooting that year, in a country unused to armed violence in schools.
The loopholes were identified in four key areas:
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a lack of investigation on licence applications
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inadequate penalties for violation of the Arms Act
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an absence of criminal background check systems.
Conference delegates proposed a number of solutions, including extending the prohibited persons criteria to include people awaiting trial (as opposed to only 'convicts'), due to the slow legal process in India. Delegates also recommended widening the ban to encompass domestic violence offenders and extending the time between application and granting of a firearm licence.
There are an estimated 40 million firearms in India, with the majority in civilian possession. |
