HYDERABAD : Ten days after the Dec. 6 riots in the Old City , the authorities are still figuring out just how many shots were fired by the police.

This assumes significance in the light of complaints by some residents of the riot-hit localities that some of the fire came from private guns and not just police weapons on the night of Dec. 6.

However, with three forces - the Hyderabad City Police, the AP Special Police and the Rapid Action Force - opening fire on the rioters that night, it is not clear who shot how many rounds and whether there were any unaccounted shots. “We are still calculating. It is complicated because of the involvement of three agencies,” police commissioner R P Singh said.

Initial reports received at the Police Control Room on the night of Dec. 6 put the number of shots fired at 145. The city police say the allegations of private gunfire are baseless. But all the same, the police have not followed up on an assurance from the chief minister that all samples pointing to any involvement of private individuals would be sent for forensic examination.

Adding to the confusion, before any forensic experts could visit the riot-hit areas, MCH workers not only swept but also washed the streets clean in preparation for VIP visits. Therefore, the police have no material to send to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).

Sources in the FSL said they found samples of ammunition used in self-loading rifles, .38 mm and 9 mm weapons — all of them normally used by police and defence personnel.

However, police sources confirmed to The Times of India that many anti-social elements too have procured.38 and 9mm pistols.

Interestingly, doctors at the Osmania General Hospital found entry and exit wounds on the bodies of the two victims who died of bullet wounds. No one knows the calibre of the bullets that killed these two persons, FSL sources said.

“Had the MCH not swept the places clean, the bullets could have been recovered and matched with the body samples of the dead. This would also have helped us know if the bullets came from police guns or private weapons,’’ a source in the FSL said.

Singh ruled out the involvement of private gunmen in the firing. Asked why the samples of bullets and the guns used in firing were not sent to FSL, he said that the question of sending the samples for examination does not arise when there is no dispute.

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