Vizag: Post abduction of Satyanarayana’s family, his son, business associate apply for gun licence

Commissioner of Police Visakhapatnam CM Trivikram Varma said there was no rush for gun licenses in Visakhapatnam.

Talking to reporters on Thursday, Varma said only 15 persons applied for gun licenses during the last four years in Vizag city.

Varma said that after the kidnapping incident of YSRCP MP MVV Satyanarayana’s family in Vizag city, his son M Chandu, business associate and renowned auditor G Venkateswara Rao applied for the gun licenses.

Thrivikram Varma said that between 2020 and 2022, five persons, including a Naval officer and the YSRCP minister Gudivada Amarnath have applied for gun licenses.

After verifying the threat perception of the applicants, the police issued firearm licenses to four persons and Gudivada Amarnath’s application was still pending.

In 2023, a total of ten persons including CRPF personnel applied for gun licences citing various reasons. He said the police will verify and issue the licenses to eligible persons. There was only a thorough investigation carried out before issuing gun licenses, he added.

It may be recalled that TDP leaders in Vizag city alleged that after the kidnapping incident, many leaders from the Vizag region have kept mum due to the failure of the police in protecting their families and have now started to apply for gun licenses. They also said that Gudivada Amarnath has a bulletproof car and two gunmen, but still, he had applied for a gun license. However, the police claimed that Amarnath had applied for a gun license in 2020 through the District Collector's office.

There are approximately 620 licensed weapons in Vizag city and there hasn’t been an increase in the number of people applying for arms, the CP added.

When questioned about the seizure of illegal arms in the city, the commissioner said so far one small arm was seized and began searching for others.