Punjab’s home secretary has taken notice of reports of millions of rupees worth of arms and ammunition that has gone missing from Punjab Police’s armouries in several districts.

A committee has been formed under additional IG special branch to investigate the matter and submit a report in the next 10 days. A statement from the home department clarified that weapons are given directly to the police and they are themselves responsible for it. The statement also said that the audit report cited is for the year 2023-24.

A report in the Daily Express had revealed that weapons and ammunition worth Rs240 million has gone ‘missing’ from the possession of police in 12 districts.

Weapons worth over Rs80 million have gone missing from the office of DPO Muzaffargarh, and another Rs80 million from two police offices in Lahore.

Similar losses have also been reported from Multan, Sahiwal, Sialkot, Okara, Gujrat and Faisalabad. The report also revealed that rifles given to sentries in Lahore’s central jail have also disappeared.