Excisemen to get bullets for pistols

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Excise Minister K Babu has said that Excise Department will get 26,000 bullets for the pistols and revolvers used by Excise inspectors and other senior officers in the department.In a statement, he said that it was following the intervention of  Defence Minister A K Antony that the Ammunition factory, Pune, had been directed to allot the bullets.  He said that 17,000 bullets will be allotted for pistols and 9000 bullets for revolvers. It was in 1996  that the government decided to allot 101  revolvers for Excise officers from the rank of inspectors and above as part of strengthening the enforcement and modernisation of the Excise force.  In 2009, the government had also decided to allot 110 pistols for the same category of officers.  The Excise force had  bought the 110  pistols (0.32’’) and 101 revolvers (0.32”) from the Gun and Shell Factory , Kolkata.   However,  the personnel  could not use the pistols and revolvers for lack of bullets.The bullets being made available from  Ammunition factory , Pune, will be handed over to  the chief of the Excise  Academy, Thrissur.  After providing training to the Excise officials,  the weapons will be used for enforcement by the force.