<p>An elderly man who lost his licensed gun to thieves had to run around the police station for two days to get an FIR registered. That was not all.</p>.<p>The 72-year-old and his wife were questioned by police about whether they had fired at anyone, had left the gun elsewhere and were trying to file a false complaint. </p>.<p>Byregouda, a retired BEL planning officer living in Jakkur, bought a 12-bore double-barrel shotgun about 30 years ago to scare away robbers and burglars in what was once a sparsely populated area. He obtained a firearms license from the police and renewed it regularly. During the elections, he surrendered his gun to the police. </p>.<p>Around 7 pm on December 7, Byregouda took out the firearm, cleaned it, and kept it on the doorstep for drying. He then went to his nearby farm. When he returned an hour later, the gun wasn’t there. He and his wife spent hours looking for the gun but didn’t find it. </p>.<p>When the couple went to the Amruthahalli police station to file a complaint, the inspector asked for the necessary details and instructed his men to register an FIR. </p>.<p>That was only half the ordeal. </p>.<p>The police started asking the couple all sorts of questions. For example, did they fire at anyone with the gun or did they give it to someone and forget it because they were old? </p>.<p>“Their questions really hurt us. I may be old, but my memory is intact. Police weren’t ready to believe me. They checked if I had surrendered my gun at the police station and forgotten it. We spent the whole day at the police station but the FIR wasn’t registered,” Byregouda told <em><span class="italic">DH</span></em>. </p>.<p>He further said he never bought a bullet and always kept the gun in the house.</p>.<p>“I used the gun only to threaten miscreants when they came close to my house. But I did not intend to shoot anyone. “At my age, I don’t want to run around registering an FIR,” he added. </p>.<p>The police made the couple wait until the evening when they went to the police station on December 9. They said they couldn’t register the FIR because there was no internet connection due to a power outage. </p>.<p>“Even now, they haven’t given us a copy of the FIR,” Byregouda said on Monday. </p>.<p>An officer from the Amruthahalli police station said a case of theft was registered on December 9 and efforts were underway to trace the culprits. </p>
<p>An elderly man who lost his licensed gun to thieves had to run around the police station for two days to get an FIR registered. That was not all.</p>.<p>The 72-year-old and his wife were questioned by police about whether they had fired at anyone, had left the gun elsewhere and were trying to file a false complaint. </p>.<p>Byregouda, a retired BEL planning officer living in Jakkur, bought a 12-bore double-barrel shotgun about 30 years ago to scare away robbers and burglars in what was once a sparsely populated area. He obtained a firearms license from the police and renewed it regularly. During the elections, he surrendered his gun to the police. </p>.<p>Around 7 pm on December 7, Byregouda took out the firearm, cleaned it, and kept it on the doorstep for drying. He then went to his nearby farm. When he returned an hour later, the gun wasn’t there. He and his wife spent hours looking for the gun but didn’t find it. </p>.<p>When the couple went to the Amruthahalli police station to file a complaint, the inspector asked for the necessary details and instructed his men to register an FIR. </p>.<p>That was only half the ordeal. </p>.<p>The police started asking the couple all sorts of questions. For example, did they fire at anyone with the gun or did they give it to someone and forget it because they were old? </p>.<p>“Their questions really hurt us. I may be old, but my memory is intact. Police weren’t ready to believe me. They checked if I had surrendered my gun at the police station and forgotten it. We spent the whole day at the police station but the FIR wasn’t registered,” Byregouda told <em><span class="italic">DH</span></em>. </p>.<p>He further said he never bought a bullet and always kept the gun in the house.</p>.<p>“I used the gun only to threaten miscreants when they came close to my house. But I did not intend to shoot anyone. “At my age, I don’t want to run around registering an FIR,” he added. </p>.<p>The police made the couple wait until the evening when they went to the police station on December 9. They said they couldn’t register the FIR because there was no internet connection due to a power outage. </p>.<p>“Even now, they haven’t given us a copy of the FIR,” Byregouda said on Monday. </p>.<p>An officer from the Amruthahalli police station said a case of theft was registered on December 9 and efforts were underway to trace the culprits. </p>