Locals allege increase in cases of stray bullets; no FIR recorded yet

By Omkar Khandekar

With two incidents in five days of stray bullets from the Ghatkopar firing range landing in nearby residential areas, questions are once again being raised about the safety of residents, even as fingers are being pointed at haphazard development in the vicinity. While locals allege that the frequency of such incidents have increased, the police have not recorded an FIR as yet.

In the past five years, there have been numerous instances of misfired bullets ricocheting and making their way to the other end of the adjacent hill, into residential parts of Powai. On Saturday, a bullet shattered the rear windscreen of a car parked in Avalon society, Powai. Earlier, on Tuesday, a Crisil employee found his windscreen smashed by a bullet at Hiranandani Gardens. While nobody was hurt in both cases, the incidents have brought the dangers posed by the range to the fore.

According to guidelines laid down by the senior inspector (Armoury), in the event of such accidents, a case can be registered under the IPC. Officials from the Powai police station, however, maintain that no FIR has been registered so far, and only an incident report has been made in the station diary.

Since the early 1960s, the Ghatkopar firing range has been used for firearms practice of Mumbai police. An official from the Arms Division said, “At that time, the area had practically no human presence. However, the surrounding areas have witnessed vast development over time.”

Fours years ago, the increasing number of stray bullets led the police to propose a structural overhaul of the open firing range. “In 2010, work began on constructing walls around the range,” said Inspector Hemant Desai of Local Arms Division. “The walls were proposed to be seven metres in height to stop stray bullets, and a roof was to be built for added safety.” The work, however, has been stalled due to insufficient funds.

“The firing range has been around for many decades, and there have been several violations by builders while constructing residential areas in and around Powai,” said environmentalist Rishi Agarwal from Observer Research Foundation. “The only solution is to modernise the range and build an indoor structure to protect nearby residents from stray bullets.”