E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU/DHANUSHA, NOV 27 - Laxman Shah’s (name changed) life seemed routine to his neighbours, until the day the police arrested him. His wife and children were shocked, as they were kept in the dark about his real profession. Shah has been a dealer of firearms for the past decade—an arms mule who regularly procured small arms from the Indian towns of Sitamarhi,  Sursand, Basopatti, and Ladniya to send them to the Capital.

Shah was released a few months ago from Jaleshwor Jail, where he spent a whole year after being arrested for procuring arms. The 37-year-old, who hails from Dhanusha, was lucky the police didn’t bust him for his other job of dealing drugs.

“The volume of transporting small arms depends on the order. I usually transport one pistol at a time on alternate days,” says Shah, who prefers to walk across the Nepali border into India to buy his stock, as “walking is much safer than riding a two-wheeler to ferry arms.”

Shah is just a small player in the burgeoning arms business in Nepal. The International Action Network on Small Arms—an international network of civil organisations that works against small arms proliferation—estimates that there are around 55,000 small arms in possession of civilians today—all of them illegal. Circulation within the Capital itself is estimated to be about 5,000, where demand for small arms is rising like never before, and at least 350 of them have been confiscated in the last three years.

 It is mostly young men like Shah, who are carrying them, or bringing them into the Valley. “We usually use bus drivers and helpers to ferry the arms,” says Shah “They are ready to smuggle the arms which they deliver to gangs inside the Capital.” The weapons are hidden in nooks and corners inside the vehicle, or sometimes in a hand luggage.

“Branded sixers (the six-bullet revolver) and local sixers are much in demand inside Kathmandu,” Shah explains. “We have high demand for pistols in the Tarai.”

Shah, who always carries a revolver on his self, says he loves to change his pistol as new models come into the market. He explains that well-organised rackets often smuggle in their own weapons using personal vehicles. “Most rackets have connections with the SSB (the Indian border force) and Nepal Police, which makes it easier for them to cross the border with the weapons,” a claim that was hard to establish.

Capital connection

According to Inspector Rugam Bahadur Kunwar at Metropolitan Police Sector Sorhakhutte, a local sixer—also called a katta—is easily available in the Capital for anywhere between Rs. 8,000 and Rs. 12,000. Similarly, prices for Italian, Chinese and American pistols range from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 50,000. Most weapons inside the Capital are brought via the Hetauda-Pharping and Banepa-Bardibas routes. Security personnel also say that small arms are increasingly being smuggled from China as well, mostly through its Tibetan borders.

Like in any other organised crime network, it is usually the mules who bring in the weapons, and are caught by the police if they carry them around. “The real dealers are always working behind the scene; those who get arrested sometimes don’t even know who they are working for,” says Inspector Gajju Siddhi Bajracharya at Metropolitan Police Range, Hanumandhoka. Bajracharya cites the example of a recent arrest: a man was delivering a pistol to Thamel and was paid Rs. 2,000 in advance. He was promised another Rs. 8,000 if the weapon was successfully delivered to the client, but he didn’t know either’s identities.

SSP Rana Bahadur Chand, chief of the Metropolitan Crime Division, says that it is usually contractors, political party cadres, casino owners, dance bar owners, and bouncers who buy these small arms. “People are fascinated by small arms because of their size and portability. Their easy availability because of the open border adds to this attraction,” he says. Police sources quote the firing at Tri-Chandra College during a contract bid in July last year as an example of arms proliferation inside the Capital.

Security experts say the increase in small arms is a result of the decade-long civil war, during which criminals organised their networks better while police forces were being withdrawn to the centre. “It’s not that small arms were never used before the civil war, but its usage definitely increased after it,” says retired Additional Inspector General of Police Keshav Baral. “Also, security personnel were sent back either to the headquarters or to the central office during this time, and organised criminals got a chance to boost themselves.”

This weakening of the police force during the insurgency continues, as the Valley’s police do not have adequate equipment and trained manpower to deal with rising organised crime. Further, political protectionism has flourished, with parties increasingly using organised criminals to their own benefit. “Criminal gangs are mostly sheltered by political parties,” Baral says, adding that this trend has to stop before the situation can be improved. He also adds that appointing police personnel according to party affiliations has also weakened the police.

SSP Chand points out that the police cannot do “everything”. In fact, he says, those who are arrested with small arms are usually caught because of local cooperation. Police sources say that they have adequate information of at least 17 small arm dealers inside Thamel today, but are waiting for the “right time” to make arrests. “We have tightened security at all entry points to the Capital,” says Kunwar.

Kathmandu in recent years has seen a spate of incidents where small arms were used in broad daylight. Apart from the Tri-Chandra firing, a recent robbery outside a Thamel ATM saw a man being shot. Small arms are proliferating inside the Capital, and in the absence of a secure border, arms dealers like Shah find it extremely easy to bring weapons inside the country and send them to the Capital. But if there’s a nexus that protects the dealers and the buyers, it will make the job of the authorities that much harder.

Posted on: 2010-11-27 10:02

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