Ever since the police have unearthed an unlicensed gun-manufacturing unit at Papathimoolai on the Kalvarayan Hill range in Kallakurichi block and arrested 11 persons recently, 153 country-made guns have surfaced in the region so far.
These guns, mostly the single barrel muzzle loading (SBML) varieties, have either been abandoned on the roadsides, on the river banks and on the fallow lands or voluntarily handed over to the Village Administrative Officers by the owners.
Police sources told The Hindu that on the basis of plethora of complaints received from the people that country-made guns were available in plenty, Superintendent of Police V. Vikraman deployed a special team to trace the origin of these guns and bring to book those involved in the illegal trade.
The team zeroed in on the work shed run by Subramani (43) of Puthirampattu in which the security personnel found a huge stock of butts, barrels and other paraphernalia required for gun-making.
On the confession of Subramani, the police arrested 10 more persons by invoking the provisions of the Arms Act. The sources further said that as the word spread that the police were dealing sternly with those having and illegal guns in their possession they started abandoning it slyly.
Therefore, when the personnel had gone to look for unauthorized arms in as many as 170 villages / hamlets such as Vanjikuzhi Perumbut, Oddapudur, Pannapadi, Serapattu, Keezhnilavu, Maniyarpalayam, Kilankadu, Pottiyam and Chinna Thirupathi, they found the guns, in various conditions, lying in the open all over the places.
The personnel had a tough time collecting those guns of which about one-third were in working condition.
The guns would be destroyed after getting due permission from the District Collector. It is likely that the search for unauthorised guns might spill over to the neighbouring districts.
