The district administration in Khulna has been unable to trace 96 licensed firearms, and the owners of the weapons have not renewed licences despite repeated notices.
Kazi Ferdous Hossain, a resident of Daulatpur, is one such individual who has not renewed the licence of his revolver in the last five years. Sheikh Rafiq, who lives on Dharmashava Cross Road, was awarded a licence a decade ago but has not renewed it in the past four years.
Like Ferdous and Rafiq, there are many who are yet to renew licences. 51 licences belong to law enforcers serving in different forces, and 45 to civilians.
Deputy Commissioner of Khulna Anis Mahmud said carrying a firearm without renewing licence is illegal.
“We will trace the unlicensed arms and will take legal steps, if necessary,” he said.
According to the rule, a person who has been granted a licence has to purchase a firearm by December 31 of the year but there are at least 350 licence holders who have not complied with the rule in the past few years. The local administration did not cancel the licences either.
A licence will be cancelled if not renewed for three consecutive years but the time frame has expired for most of the firearms in question. It has been said the licences were not cancelled due to legal limitations. Many licence holders, who are civil servants, were transferred and now live outside Khulna.
Abuse of licensed firearms has also been alleged in different times. A trader named Sayeed, who lives in Raipara, shot and injured two people with a licensed gun on May 16, 2011. On July 18, ATM Morshed, a doctor at MA Gafur Memorial Hospital in Fultala upazila, shot on a crowd which left several injured.
No action, however, was taken in either of the incidents.
There are 2,075 licensed firearms in Khulna, including 219 pistols and 131 revolvers.
