Retired soldier held for possessing illegal firearms

Tirunelveli: A 31-year-old retired Indian Army soldier was arrested in Sengalakurichi in Tirunelveli district on Saturday on charges of creating a ruckus at his residence and threatening to end his life using an illegal country-made firearm.After being informed, the Thirukkurungudi police rushed to the spot and found the accused, Mahalingam, embroiled in a heated altercation with his family members. He brandished a pistol-type firearm and threatened to shoot himself, police said. After overpowering Mahalingam, police conducted a search of the premises and found a country-made pistol that uses gunpowder, two air guns, pellets, and gunpowder in the house. During an inquiry, Mahalingam claimed that the weapons were ancestral heirlooms and said that they have been kept in his house since the time of his father and grandfather, both of whom served in the armed forces as well.However, police booked him under sections of the Arms Act after he failed to produce any valid documentation or licences for the weapons, and arrested him. The firearms were seized.