BHOPAL: The City of Lakes is dealing with a tricky situation — there has been an increase in open firing in Bhopal, especially in the last few days.Take this for example: In the first 30 days of the new year, seven incidents of firing were reported in the city. In 2019, around two dozen cases were reported in the city.It is believed that easy availability of firearms in the city has led to this. Not only hardcore gangsters, but small-time miscreants too carry pistols and openly use them in petty disputes.Single-shot kattas, and the more ‘sophisticated’ countrymade multiple-shot pistols are being smuggled into Bhopal in large numbers.Sources say, they are being supplied to college students and miscreants at cheap rates.Recently, there has been a craze for firearms among youngsters. Police, last month, had filed a case against three youths for uploading selfies with illegal guns on social media. And gun runners are out to exploit this mania for easy money. If a novice contacts them, they charge anything between Rs 15000 to Rs 25000 for the illegal firearms, although these illegal pistols are usually sold for Rs 3000 to Rs 12000 in the city through discreet contacts.Police sources, requesting anonymity, maintained that situation has become worse because there have been no major seizures of firearms in the city recently.They claimed that the special police units — headed by senior officials — formed to investigate such cases haven’t focussed on tracking the source of the firearm, which might lead them to busting a gang of firearm suppliers. In 2019, police had registered 1510 cases under Arms Act and seized 28 ‘kattas’, 27 pistols, six revolvers and 80 cartridges.Retired CSP Salim Khan, who conducted major drives and seized a large number of firearms during his tenure, told TOI that police must launch a major drive against the firearm suppliers. Cops will have to find the source of firearms coming in the city and track the supply chain and stop it. He also said that this process must be repeated at regular intervals.Khan said illegal firearms are supplied in the city mostly from Khargone and Dhar by the notorious ‘Sikligars’. Another route of firearms supply is from Uttar Pradesh via Morena and Bhind. There are a number of suppliers in the bordering districts who smuggle firearms in the city.A senior cop, wishing anonymity, said unemployment and urge to become powerful draw youngsters to guns. Posing with pistols on social media has become a craze and many youths can be seen holding guns in their profile pictures. He added that everyday young professionals and businessmen approach police in large numbers to get a gun licence. He also emphasised that planned drive against illegal firearms has to be conducted to control this problem.Ex-DGP Dinesh Chandra Jugran said a lot of youngsters, influenced by movies and social media, are lured to carry pistols with them to create an impression on their peers. He said that psyche of the youth is changing because of many factors in the present scenario, which have a cumulative effect on people. Jugran also said that cops have to play a vital role in controlling the menace and ensure that it doesn't spread. There has to be a minute checking of vehicles on the city borders and inside the city. Police needs to step up new strategies to control this free use of illegal weapons.ASP (crime branch) Nishchal Jharia admitted that the number of people possessing firearms just for craze has gone up, ‘although they don’t use them’. DIG Irshad Wali, however, said that average number of firing incidents had decreased gradually last year, compared to the previous two years. He denied that firearms are being smuggled in the city and added, “Illegal firearms used by the accused in recent firing incidents were with them for years and even decades.”