Police in India's National Capital Region Outgunned by Armed Criminals

Strategic Insights -

The police in the National Capital Region of India are facing an increasingly desperate situation, with over a dozen murders of policemen in the last two years and a growing number of cases where police personnel are outgunned by heavily armed criminals. The illicit market in arms has flourished in India's hinterlands, with Bihar's Munger district emerging as a major hub for manufacturing knock-offs of sophisticated weapons. Despite frequent raids, the ecosystem has proved resilient, and intelligence inputs suggest that weapons produced in these areas are increasingly ending up in urban centers like Delhi.

Key Takeaways:

  • Over a dozen murders of policemen in the last two years indicate that police personnel in the National Capital Region are being increasingly outgunned by heavily armed criminals.
  • Bihar's Munger district has emerged as a major hub for manufacturing knock-offs of sophisticated weapons, including AK-47s and other semi-automatic firearms.
  • Crude lathes and welding equipment in tiny backyard workshops in Munger and other areas are churning out imitations of AK-47s and other semi-automatic firearms with alarming efficiency.
  • Intelligence inputs suggest that weapons produced in Munger and similar areas are increasingly ending up in urban centers like Delhi, feeding a growing appetite among organised crime syndicates.
  • In a major crackdown in May, Delhi Police busted an illegal arms manufacturing and supply syndicate operating from Deeg, arresting five people and recovering 11 illegal firearms, including a rifle and 10 pistols.
  • The probe began after the March 4 arrest of gangster Rohit Gahlot, who named Juber's Deeg-based network.
  • Mubin, a member of the gang, was trained in arms-making since 2013 and sold pistols for up to Rs.12,000.
  • Harvinder and his cousin Sonu resold weapons to Delhi gangs, with the former building direct links with criminals.
  • The state of police preparedness in NCR appears dangerously anachronistic, with only a handful of police stations in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana possessing AK-47 rifles or officers trained to use them.
  • The Union ministry of home affairs has repeatedly called for modernisation of the police force, with annual allocations for arms procurement, training, and equipment upgrades.
  • Implementation is patchy, with a lopsided focus on ceremonial or riot control gear rather than actual combat-readiness.

Statistics:

  • Over 15 murders of policemen in the last two years.
  • 11 illegal firearms recovered in a crackdown in May, including a rifle and 10 pistols.
  • 17 live cartridges recovered.
  • 30 live cartridges seized in an improvised AK-47 rifle assembled in Munger district.
  • Rs.2.4 lakh: the price of the improvised AK-47 rifle seized in Delhi.
  • 1.7 million: the number of police personnel in India.
  • 152 officers per 100,000 people: the police-to-population ratio in India, far below the United Nations' recommended 222.

Sources:

  • Hindustan Times
  • Delhi Police's special commissioner of police (crime) Devesh Chandra Srivastava
  • Joint CP (Crime) Surender Kumar
  • Retired special commissioner of Delhi Police
  • Former joint commissioner of Delhi Police BK Singh
  • Bureau of Police Research and Development
  • Supreme Court's directives from the Prakash Singh judgment in 2006