Banjara, Jubilee Hills account for 25% of Hyderabad’s licensed firearms
HYDERABAD: The upcoming assembly by-election in Jubilee Hills has brought attention to the unusually high concentration of licensed firearms in Hyderabad’s affluent localities. In the Police data that one in every four licensed gun owners in the city resides in Banjara Hills or Jubilee Hills.
According to police records, out of 3,709 licensed weapon holders across 99 police stations in Hyderabad, 906—nearly 25%—belong to these two upscale neighbourhoods. Most licences are for pistols and revolvers.
567 licence holders in Banjara Hills alone
Banjara Hills police station limits account for 567 licence holders possessing 844 weapons, with several individuals owning multiple firearms. In comparison, Jubilee Hills has 234 licence holders, of whom fewer than two dozen are yet to surrender their weapons for the by-election period.
All firearms are stored in the city’s 10 licensed armouries, which have strong rooms fitted with alarms and CCTV cameras linked to local police stations. Owners can reclaim their weapons only after the election process concludes.
Banjara Hills outnumbers entire police zones
Interestingly, Banjara Hills police station alone has more licensed weapons than entire police zones such as the East, Central or North—each covering 10 to 11 stations. The South East Zone, which includes 10 police stations, has only 382 licensed weapons.
“Several retired police officers and former ministers living in Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills also hold arms licences. However, there have been no reports of these being used for intimidation in recent years,” a senior police officer said.
Officials added that while arms licences earlier required annual renewal, the validity period has now been extended to five years. Failure to renew a licence results in its cancellation and seizure of the weapon.
