Accidental firing in Pune shows cops need weapons training

The accidental firing from the service pistol of a traffic constable at the police commissionerate has brought to the fore the rather “amateurish” manner in which a section of the police force handles firearms.

On Tuesday afternoon, constable Vijay Bhusare (27) attached to the Pune police traffic branch was injured when a bullet hit him when his colleague, Amol Sarde, was displaying his pistol and explaining its functioning.

“Sarde initially loaded the pistol with cartridges and then started removing them from the magazine. But he pressed the trigger, apparently unmindfully, even before the magazine had been emptied,” police sources said.

The injured police constable is recuperating in Jehangir Hospital and his condition is stable.  

A senior police officer attached with the city police told DNA that there is an imperative need for police personnel to get training in handling and use of firearms more frequently.  “Had such training been organised, the policemen would have been more professional in handling and using weapons,” police sources confessed. At present, training is organised for all officers and constables armed with firearms just once a year at a firing range in Wadachi Wadi and Dighi.