Superintendent of Police (Dakshina Kannada) A.S. Rao has favoured the formation of a civilian rifle training association in the district, which will be affiliated to the Karnataka State Rifle Association. “We will call for nominations to the post of association president or chairman in a week,” he said.
Speaking at a function organised on Thursday to distribute certificates to 86 civilians who completed a weeklong rifle training course with the Police Department, Mr. Rao stressed the need to create a formal body to ensure regular training programmes for the public. The formation of such an association could also provide a platform for those aspiring to take up shooting as a sport, he said.
Lauding the efforts of Additional Superintendent of Police R. Ramesh in coordinating the training programme, he said that he would initiate steps to conduct rifle training programmes in places such as Puttur and Belthangady, which were in his jurisdiction. “We will start training camps in rural areas by the first week of August,” he said.
Mangalore City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said that training programmes such as this helped in bridging the gap between the Police Department and the general public. He also complimented the trainees who had participated in the relief and rescue efforts in the aftermath of the May 22 plane crash.
When asked to share their experiences, most of the participants expressed their desire to possess firearm licences.
However, Deputy Commissioner V. Ponnuraj, who issues gun licences, dissuaded the participants from securing licences.
Pointing to the recent incident in Kochi, where Real Admiral S.S. Jamwal was killed in accidental firing, he said firearm licence was a great liability. “I have rejected 98 per cent of the gun licence applications I have received so far,” he said.
