As Bihar heads to polls, crime wave fuels law and order concerns

Back-to-back killings targeting businessmen, politicians, lawyers, teachers and ordinary citizens have raised serious concerns about Bihar’s law and order, with police blaming the surge on the widespread availability of illegal firearms and ammunition.

Over the past 10 days, a string of killings — including those of businessman Gopal Khemka, BJP leader Surendra Kumar, a 60-year-old woman, a shopkeeper, a lawyer, and a teacher — has rocked the poll-bound state.

According to the latest State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) data, the state recorded 1,376 murders with an average of 229 each month between January and June, compared to 2,786 in all of 2024 and 2,863 in 2023.

According to senior police officers, proliferation of firearms, which are illegally manufactured or procured without a valid license, coupled with unchecked availability of ammunition, have contributed to the recent spurt in violent crimes.

Bihar has consistently ranked among the top-five states in terms of violent crimes, including those involving firearms, according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures. The state has held second position in violent crime rate in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2022, NCRB data said.

Talking to PTI, DGP Vinay Kumar, said, "Land disputes and property matters are the main reasons behind most of the killings. In such cases, role of police is limited and it starts after the crime takes place. Our force has achieved 100 per cent detection rate".

The DGP, however, claimed that organised crime has come down compared to last year.

"Proliferation of firearms, illegally manufactured or procured without valid licenses, coupled with unchecked availability of ammunition are issues which are being looked into by the authorities", he said.

"A state with such a large population, having over 60 per cent population under the age of 30 and unemployed, is bound to be vulnerable to law and order problems", additional director general of police (headquarters) Kundan Krishnan said.

"To check violent crimes, there is a need to plug the gaps in the existing system and standardise the process of issuing arms licenses," Krishnan, who is also the ADG of the Special Task Force (STF) of Bihar Police, told PTI.

According to the National Database of Arms Licenses-Arms License Issuance System (NDAL-ALIS) portal (Ministry of Home Affairs), Bihar has 82,326 firearms holders and 77,479 active arms licences.

Out of 141 licensed arms dealers in the state, only 114 are operational, while 27 have been found inoperative.

"This poses a serious threat of misuse. We have brought the matter to the notice of the authorities concerned. Licenses of such dealers must be suspended," Krishnan said.

An analysis of district-wise firearm licences in relation to population reveals that Bhojpur has the highest density, with 205 firearms and 196 licensees per lakh population, surpassing Patna, which has 161 firearms and 156 licences per lakh.

SCRB data further shows Patna as the leading district in Arms Act cases, averaging 321.7 cases annually, followed by Begusarai (167.7), Muzaffarpur (158.3), Nalanda (117.9), and Vaishali (117.8).

In the last 10 years, the number of recovered country-made firearms has more than doubled from 2,356 in 2015 to 4,981 in 2024, it said.

A correlation between arms Act cases and violent crimes shows Patna again topping the list, averaging 82 violent incidents annually, followed by Motihari (49.53), Saran (44.08), Gaya (43.50), Muzaffarpur (39.93), and Vaishali (37.90).

"Most violent crimes in the state involve the use of firearms. However, ammunition used in these crimes are manufactured by licensed industrial units. Therefore, the identity of the 25 inoperative arms dealers out of 138 listed in the state can be exploited by criminals to illegally procure arms/ammunition", the ADG added.

Talking to PTI, Jitendra Rana, inspector general (IG) of central range (Patna), said, "It is not true to say that gun-related violence has increased in Patna. Yes, it is true that some sensational murder cases have taken place. But, the accused have also been arrested in those cases and arms and ammunition were also recovered".

Commenting on the surge in violent cases, Abhayanand, former DGP, told PTI, "I must say that the existing criminal justice system is not able to match up to the crime. The legislature must make laws to give more power to police to check such crimes effectively".

Reacting to surge in crimes, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in a post on X said, "If the crumbling law and order and rampant corruption in Bihar aren’t making anyone angry in the state, then we must say that the person’s sense of justice and human compassion has died. Ignoring the government's failures and public sentiments in the name of caste and religion is disastrous for Bihar and the people of the state. Under the NDA’s rule, 65,000 murders have taken place so far !!! Does the unconscious chief minister dare to make a statement on any such incident?”.

Deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha recently told reporters that, "Increasing criminal incidents involve the sand mafia, land mafia and liquor mafia. These mafias are linked to the RJD. RJD members want to spread anarchy in Bihar before the elections".