The image of West Godavari district as a place of serenity associated with the lush green paddy fields and the picturesque Godavari river appears to be just deceptive if the spurt in gun culture in the recent past is any pointer.
The gunning down of three persons from the Budaga Jangalu community of Pinakadimi on the Kolkatta-Chennai National Highway near Peddaoutupalli on the Krishna-West Godavari borders a few months ago, a history-sheeter in the district courts a few years ago and another person in a wayside hotel near Nallajarla on the Eluru-Rajahmundry highway serve as a visible indicator for the rising gun culture in the district. The police arrested a gambling organiser in Bhimavaram on December 27 last while allegedly in possession of a fire arm with which he was allegedly trying to enforce ‘discipline’ in his den.
The police investigations revealed that the weapon found its way into the town from a daily wage-earner from Bihar and had been changing hands in the last three years even after expiry of its licence. The police seized a couple of country-made pistols from a gang of dacoits belonging to Rajasthan while committing offences in Bhimavaram during the same period. A semi-automatic pistol was found to have used in the killing of Pachcha Madhu, a gangster from Tadepalligudem by the assailants at Nallajarla which was procured from a license-holder.
To top it all, the police led by city DSP K.G.V.Saritha arrested an MBA graduate in Vijayawada two weeks ago on the charge of manufacturing crude fire arms for supply to the armed squads of the CPI-ML (New Democracy). He was alleged to have put to use his exposure to foundry work to assemble the spare parts of firearms. The seizure of six single barrel guns, one double barrel gun and two country-made weapons from the militants of the Chandranna group of the New Democracy in the Buttayagudem forests led to the arrest of the MBA graduate.
Superintendent of Police K. Raghuram Reddy said firearms were found to have been supplied into the district from a remote place, Mungeri, in Bihar where manufacture of weapons is a cottage industry. Arms have been in circulation from three sources – Left wing extremists, gangsters and dacoits, the SP added.
