Anantapur: Delays in the renewal of political leaders’ weapon licenses have become an issue. Leaders, especially those from the opposition parties, are afraid that their renewals are being delayed on purpose. The murder of C. Narayana Reddy, the YSRC in-charge for Pathikonda, has brought to light lapses on the police’s part in the renewal of his weapon license.
The victim did not have a weapon with him because of a delay in the license renewal process. Y. Venkatrami Reddy, the YSRC in-charge for Guntakal, has received a notice from the police asking him to surrender his weapon because he has failed to renew his license. Mr Reddy has held a weapon licence for the past two decades. Last December, he submitted all the necessary documents to have his licence renewed.
The renewal process has been delayed, and he is yet to receive a renewed license. Meanwhile, he has been asked to surrender his weapon. He alleges that the Telugu Desam Government is pressurising police officers to delay the renewal of licences, to create unnecessary trouble. “I’ve never misused the weapon ever since I got a license two decades ago, but the department officials are delaying the process and not clearing the file in time,” he says.
He adds that several other YSRC leaders are also facing a similar situation. Sources say that renewal is a lengthy process; the AR authorities prepare a report based on the opinion of the Special Branch team after studying the candidate’s details. Usually, license holders are allowed to retain their weapons while the renewal process is being completed, but recently authorities have been asking people to hand over their weapons once the original licenses lapse.
