UP, not J&K has highest number of people with gun licences: Full list here
There are 2,47,130 active gun licences in Madhya Pradesh, followed by Haryana where 1,41,926 people are authorised to carry licenced weapons, it said.
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Jammu and Kashmir, the state hit by terrorism incidentally does not top the list where people possess gun licences. Uttar Pradesh with 12.77 lakh people possessing gun licences tops the list.
J&K comes a distant second with the number being at 3.69 lakh. According to the statistics released by the home ministry, the country has a total of 33,69,444 active gun licences as on December 31, 2016.
The highest number of gun licences were given in Uttar Pradesh where 12,77,914 people are authorised to carry weapons, most of which were taken in the name of personal security. As per the 2011 census, the population of Uttar Pradesh is 19,98,12,341.
Jammu and Kashmir, hit by three decades of militancy, has 3,69,191 licenced gun holders, including those of prohibited bore and non-prohibited bore arms. The total population of the state as per 2011 census is 1,25,41,302, the ministry said.
Punjab,
which
witnessed
terrorism
in
1980s
and
1990s,
has
3,59,349
active
gun
licences,
most
of
which
were
issued
during
the
two
decades
wherein
militancy
had
engulfed
the
state.
Punjab
has
a
population
of
2,77,43,338
as
per
the
2011
census.
There are 2,47,130 active gun licences in Madhya Pradesh, followed by Haryana where 1,41,926 people are authorised to carry licenced weapons, it said.
The other states with large number of licenced gun holders include Rajasthan (1,33,968 licences), Karnataka (1,13,631), Maharashtra (84,050), Bihar (82,585), Himachal Pradesh (77,069), Uttarakhand (64,770), Gujarat (60,784) and West Bengal (60,525).
Delhi has 38,754 licenced gun holders, Nagaland 36,606, Arunachal Pradesh 34,394, Manipur 26,836, Tamil Nadu 22,532 and Odisha issued 20,588 licences, the statistics said.
Assam has 19,283 active gun licence holders, Meghalaya 18,688, Jharkhand 17,654, Mizoram 15,895 and Kerala 9,459, they said.
The lowest number of gun licences were issued in small Union territories like Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, where 125 gun licences each were issued, the ministry said.
OneIndia News