Awareness programmes conducted by the district police in Kolli Hills to surrender illegal weapons yielded results, as people handed 80 Single Barrel Muzzle Load (SMBL) guns to the Valavanthi police station in the last one month.
Many possessed country made guns for hunting in the hill areas and the police were seizing them regularly. Last month, Superintendent of Police Saroj Kumar Thakur, and Additional DSP, Prohibition Enforcement Wing Sankar conducted awareness programmes among the tribal people in the hamlets asking them to surrender illegal weapons in their possession. They were also assured that no legal action will be taken against them if they surrender weapons.
Also, if they were unwilling to hand over the weapons directly, they were asked to place the weapon at a location and inform the nearest police station or inform the District Special Branch police at 94981-01020 so that the weapon could be collected by the police. People were also warned that strict action will be taken against them if the police seize it from them. Also, they were asked to inform the police if they have information about a person possessing illegal arms.
