How a crackdown on crime has spelt doom for Munger's gun factories

The gun-making units in Munger are together authorised to manufacture around 13,000 guns per year.

“In the 1930s my forefathers used to sell guns on the streets near the fort area. Back then, guns were manufactured in every home in the neighbouring Maksaspur village,” says Sanjay Kumar, owner of Baijnath & Co, a gun manufacturing unit in Munger.

Baijnath & Co is one among the 36 gun manufacturing units in Munger’s gun factory zone. A short distance from the district magistrate’s office, the factory area bears no sign boards, perhaps because the authorities do not want to advertise its existence. Inside, the place wears a deserted look. Stocks of guns lie gathering dust and most