The Samdrup Jongkhar Police arrested three men for alleged illegal possession of firearms in Dewathang Gewog on Wednesday. The police registered the cases after the district’s divisional forest office forwarded an illegal hunting case involving the suspects. As per the Penal Code, illegal possession of firearms is a fourth-degree felony with a prison term of three to five years.
Following a tipoff, the forest officials apprehended the three suspects on 4th April for allegedly killing a barking deer at Gayzor village in Dewathang Gewog. The team recovered the animal’s skin from them. According to sources, the suspects had used a muzzle-loading rifle for hunting. As per sources, the gun belonged to the father of one of the suspects. The man had a valid gun license but he was not aware that his son had taken it on the night of the incident.
As per Firearms and Ammunition Act 1990, mortgaging or lending licensed arms and ammunition to a third person is prohibited. Violation of the rule will be liable to a fine of Nu 1000 or imprisonment ranging from three months to one year.
Meanwhile, the divisional forest office is also charging the suspects for illegal hunting. The offence is a petty misdemeanour for which the imprisonment is from one month to less than a year.
Kinley Wangchuk. Samdrup Jongkhar
