183 gun licences cancelled in Maharashtra's Beed

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Feb 3 (PTI) Authorities in Maharashtra's Beed, which has come into focus following the murder of a sarpanch, have cancelled 183 gun licences in the district over the last one month, an official said on Monday.

Eight persons have surrendered their licences voluntarily, while the police have also recommended to the administration to cancel 127 more weapon licences in the district, he said.

A total of 1,289 weapon licences have so far been issued in Beed.

'We have cancelled 183 licences as of now, while there is a recommendation to cancel 127 more licences. We have also issued notices (to people) in 189 other cases where the weapon licences were issued before 1990. The entire process of the review and cancellation will be completed by next month-end," a senior Beed administration official told PTI.

Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9, 2024, for allegedly trying to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy firm in Beed.

Seven persons have been arrested in the murder case.

Walmik Karad, a close associate of Maharashtra NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, has been arrested in a related extortion case.

Amid the political row over the sarpanch's murder, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar last week asked NCP workers in Beed district not to get involved in extortion attempts targeting development projects.

Pawar also warned those brandishing guns in the public.

“I am also going to tell the (police) department that if someone is found showing a revolver or firing in the air, their licences should be cancelled. I will not tolerate reels (short videos on social media) with weapons. Law will be equal for all, because a change should happen and people should feel the change,” the deputy CM had said. PTI AW GK