Police stations equipped with 'outdated' weapons: CAG

Notwithstanding increasing terror threats, police Stations across the country are still depending on "outdated" weapons as the availability of sophisticated arms was "far below" the actual requirement.

According to the Comptroller and Auditor General, the weapons procurement data on each state showed that sophisticated arms like AK-47, 7.62mm SLR and 5.56mm INSAS rifle were far below the requirement of the states.

"As a result, police stations continued to depend on outdated weapons," the CAG said in its 'Audit Evaluation of Modernisation of Police Force in India' report.

Providing examples, the report said that adequate weapons were not supplied to extremist prone police stations in West Bengal while there was a shortage of 9,540 sophisticated arms in Rajasthan.

The report also pointed out that AK-47 rifles were placed at the disposal of bodyguards of VIPs in violation of Home Ministry's instructions. "In Uttar Pradesh, outdated .303 bore rifles and .410 muskets were in use," it said.

The CAG also found a case in Kerala where 1,000 second hand rifles were procured for Rs 50 lakh from Assam Rifles when the government had earmarked Rs 25 lakh for procuring 100 7.62 mm SLRs.

Another case was in Karnataka where 1,406 weapons were received in police units as against a requirement of 2,236. Out of the 1,406 weapons, only 242 were distributed for want of trained personnel.

Noting that the modernisation of police force scheme offers to replace "outdated and unserviceable" weapons with sophisticated ones, the report said that instances of issue of expired ammunition were also detected during the audit.

"In some cases these weapons were supplied to body guards of Superintendents of Police in violation of Home Ministry's guidelines. Retention of sophisticated weapons in the armoury of police reserve is another regular feature," it said.

The CAG also noted that weapons procured were mostly kept in district police headquarters, with the report specifically mentioning Andhra Pradesh in this connection.

Even where sophisticated arms were provided, the police personnel were not adequately trained in their use, it added.