Basavanagudi resident in panic after losing licensed gun

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: It is a matter of real concern and carelessness when a licensed gun goes missing from a house, especially when elections are to be held in the state.

Recently, Bengaluru Police Commissioner CH Pratap Reddy had ordered that arms holders in the city must surrender their weapons at the respective police stations until the elections get over. However, in an unusual case, a city resident allegedly found his licensed gun missing from his residence.

Following the orders from the top cop, Basavanagudi police contacted a panic-stricken Bhavadeep Reddy, a city-based businessman, and asked him to hand over his gun ahead of the assembly elections. The cops were shocked when Reddy informed them that his gun had been missing from his house. According to sources from police, Reddy, a businessman residing at Koramangala third block, had a German-made gun worth Rs 1.25 lakh for his selfdefense.

In August 2015, he obtained a permit from the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner’s Office to possess a firearm. Since then he has been renewing his gun license every year. Sources further said that Reddy was in Basavanagudi when he got the gun license, but later moved to Koramangala in 2016.

After the orders were issued to the arms holders to surrender their weapons to the police station, Reddy found his gun missing from his cupboard. He alleged that he searched the whole house and also questioned his family members about it. However when he failed to get any clue, he approached the Koramangala Police Station and filed a complaint.

Sources from the police said that during August 2021, the businessman renovated the bathroom of his house. Based on the complaint, it is being suspected that four labourers who had come for the renovation work may have stolen the gun. The police have launched an investigation in this regard.