Bhubaneswar: Arms provided to personal security officers (PSOs) of MLAs, ministers and top officers should be deposited at the nearest police station when they are off duty, senior police officers said.
In the backdrop of the death of an MLA’s PSO and his cousin of accidental gunshot wounds from the former’s service revolver in Subarnapur district, experts said that if PSOs are not with their protectees, they shouldn’t be armed.PSO Manoj Jhankar was in charge of protection of former minister and Sonepur MLA Niranjan Pujari.
He gave his service revolver to his cousin Seshadev Jhankar who allegedly shot himself accidentally while trying to shoot a reel and Manoj then killed himself out of guilt, police had said. When off duty, there is no need for them to keep a pistol. What is more worrisome is these armed people visit hotels and dhabas, change places and mingle with several people and drink alcohol. They expose themselves and others to risks,” said former DGP Sanjiv Marik.
In 2006, mishandling of a service revolver by a PSO led to the death of then DIG (south-western range), Jaswinder Singh. Initially, it was thought Singh died in a suspected Maoist attack. Further investigation revealed a single bullet fired from the 9 mm pistol of the PSO hit Singh on the head, killing him on the spot. Later, it was found the gun was already cocked. “Once a gun is cocked, it allows the bullet to enter the barrel. Then it can be fired with a gentle push of the trigger,” Marik added.
Safety in small arms is not very strong, said former DGP Sunil Bansal.
“The trajectory or direction of the bullet in case of a pistol may get completely changed because of a very narrow barrel. It is not the case in big weapons, which have a robust safety system, including safety cache. It requires great care, responsibility and knowledge about weapons to avert mishaps,” he added.

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