Ghatkopar's open firing range: A death trap for locals?

The Ghatkopar firing range is meant to serve as a platform for the Mumbai policersquos constabulary to polish their sharpshooting skills and save the public in the face of calamity But what happens if the same bullets that are meant to save the lives of people end up jeopardising their existenceBy the end of December nearly 9000 constables will have completed their firing practice at the Ghatkopar Firing Range PIC FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLYThis is the question that plagues the minds of locals who reside in Powai near the Ghatkopar firing range On Saturday afternoon Rati Chaudhary 31 a communications professional and her HR professional husband Anupam Hans 34 were on a househunting tour at Avalon Apartment Hiranandani Complex in Powai All of a sudden a stray bullet from the nearby Ghatkopar firing range hit their parked car smashing its rear windshieldA stray bullet from the Ghatkopar firing range shattered the rear windshield of this carChaudhary who resides in Chunabhatti said ldquoWe are searching for a rented flat for last few months and the real estate broker had called us to the building We parked our threeyearold car in the visitorrsquos parking area and had entered the building to have a look at a few flats On our return we spotted a security guard running towards our car and we found its rear windshield glass in piecesrdquoShe added ldquoInitially we thought it was the work of some miscreant But the security guard advised us to check the vehicle from inside to look for any clue as he suspected that it could be a bullet Within minutes we found the bullet remains inside the car Had we been near the car a minute earlier the bullet could have hit usrdquoThis is not the first time such an incident has occurred In March this year a stray bullet had hit the balcony of an eighth floor apartment of the same building7120 bullets firedWhen the incident occurred on Saturday the Mumbai constabularyrsquos yearly open target firing practice using small weapon 9mm pistol and 9 mm carbine was being conducted at the Ghatkopar firing range which is exactly behind the hill dividing the range and Hiranandani PowaiAccording to police sources the firing practice started at 7 am and went on till 4 pm The session was attended by 178 male and female police constables from 93 police stations across the city Each constable was given 40 rounds of 9 mm bullets for target practice In all around 7120 bullets were fired in the dayAt any given point in time eight police constables fire the rounds under the direct supervision of trained police personnel from the Local Arms and Armoury Units As always precaution is taken by carrying out a search of the area including the hill tops where red flags are placed to alert any bystanders of danger and also a bugle is blown before the firing in order to caution the localsldquoThe firing practice is an annual programme So far 7636 police constables have completed the target practice and by the end of the month we are anticipating nearly 9000 constables to have done the firing This also means so far 305440 rounds have been fired and by the end of the month 360000 rounds would have been fired but so far no untoward incident has occurredrdquo said a cop on condition of anonymityHowever police officials who were present at the firing range told sunday midday that around 230 pm on Saturday they were informed by the Armed Police control room about the incident at Powai A police officer said ldquoThe target for 9 mm pistol was 30 feet and that for carbine was 35 feet A fire from 9mm pistol covers a distance not more than 40 feet whereas a 9mm carbine range can vary from 100 to 300 feet Itrsquos unclear how the bullet can travel 2000 feet to the Avalon buildingrdquoWhen asked the officer if such a stray bullet piece could even kill anyone the officer replied in negative stating that the bullet can kill only if the target is within a close range of 30 feet to 40 feet and beyond that the speed of the bullet reduced and the least it might cause are minor injuriesHe said it was possible that the bullet from a 9 mm carbine might have hit a rock and richocheted toward the buildingWork incompleteThe Naigaon firing range which is used by police officials above the rank of Assistant Sub Inspector to Deputy Commissioner of Police is the only closed firing centre where 9mm pistol target practice is done The Ghatkopar firing range is the only place for the Mumbai police constabularyThough the work for a closed firing practice range had started at the Ghatkopar firing range a few years ago itrsquos yet to be completed A police officer said on condition of anonymity ldquoOnce this closed firing centre is open there will be no question of any such incidentrdquoDhananjay Kamlakar Joint Commissioner of Police Law and Order said ldquoWe are aware of the incidents of stray bullets coming from Ghatkopar firing range The matter is under investigation and we will come up with concrete precautionsrdquoBallistic experts speakMeanwhile the Powai police will soon hand over the seized bullet from the car to the ballistic experts from Forensics Science Laboratory Kalina who will match the 9mm bullets that is used at Ghatkopar firing range and will check if the remains match with that of the seized one And in case of any variation the police will have to probe the case from a new angle A senior police official who didnrsquot wish to be named said ldquoWe are awaiting the ballistic report following which our probe would beginrdquoBuilder Hiranandani speaksAfter learning about the incident Niranjan Hiranandani cofounder of the Hiranandani group said ldquoI am not aware of any such incident However there have been similar incidents in the past and we had spoken to the Mumbai police It is fortunate that nobody was injured in Saturdayrsquos incident Now the police department should come up with a preventive measure to avoid such incidents in the futurerdquo