Author: Neeraj Chauhan
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: March 29, 2006
"The use of sophisticated weapons by
militants is not new. But the recovery of Luger pistol from a terrorist in
Delhi has happened for the first time," said a senior police officer.
The Delhi Police Special Cell had killed chief
of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba's Bangladesh unit Ghulam Yazdani and his associate Kajol
in an encounter at Holambi Kalan in north-west Delhi on March 8.
The team had also recovered two Luger pistols
of the Czech Republic of 9mm caliber. "The weapon was manufactured in
Germany and militants illegally procure the weapon from the Czech Republic
and Germany," added the officer.
Luger, also called the classic handgun of
the 20th Century, was used by Germany during the Second World War. Luger is
a semi-automatic pistol that comes in more than five to six designs.
The pistol can cost something between Rs two
to three lakh, and some of its updated models are exorbitantly priced. Its
classic flowing lines make it one of the most appealing auto pistols in terms
of appearance. It is the pistol that introduced the 9mm Parabellum cartridge,
a cartridge that became one of the most popular handgun rounds ever made.
George Luger and Hugo Borchardt, who worked
for the Arms Company Deutsche Waffenund Munitions_fabriken (DWM) in the 90s,
created the Luger pistol. Later, when the gun was a success and accepted by
armies of different countries, big companies like Simpson and others started
making it.
Luger comes in calibers of 9x19mm and 7.65mm
(.30 Luger). Other chamberings include - .32 ACP, .380 ACP and .45 ACP - all
of which are rare. Also scarce are .22LR, 4mm and 6mm conversion units. It
weighs from 0.84 kg to 1.05 kg.
Around eight magazines can be attached to
it. The lengths of Luger are 3-3/4, 4 and 4-3/4 inches, which are normally
found on the military and commercial models. Luger exhibits a high degree
of fit and finish. Metal parts are either rust or salt blue while a few presentation
guns are engraved. Grip panels are generally seen with a finely checked wood.
A senior police officer said that militants
have been arrested in the recent past in the Capital with highly modified
revolvers, rifles, machine guns, explosives like RDX and IED (improvised explosive
devices), but it is unusual how they have changed their tastes.
Yazdani, who had arrived in India via Bangladesh,
had obtained these sophisticated guns from his Lashkar counterparts in Pakistan.
Apart from two Luger pistols, the police had also recovered AK-56 rifle and
hand grenades from Yazdani's possession.
The export of such weapons is banned and militant
organisations are smuggling these from western countries to Pakistan and Bangladesh,
so that they could use them in India. The militants have been using these
weapons in Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan is funding them.
According to some reports, the ISI spends
more than 50 million US dollars for obtaining weapons and explosive materials
every year. Since militant organisations like Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and Hizbul-Mujahaddin
have a good network in northern parts of the country and are targetting the
Capital, they are being trained in the use of sophisticated weapons.
"The militants had also used expensive
and extraordinary weapons in the Red Fort and Parliament attack, which shows
financial strength of the militant organisation", said a senior police
officer.
Even the Delhi Police top cops have no access
to these weapons. According to the officer, the main route for delivery of
these weapons is Bangladesh, since the Indian Army has increased the surveillance
near borders of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
