Soha: Licence woes

Gurgaon, March 18 (PTI): Her father is accused of shooting a black buck, but Soha Ali Khan is looking down the barrel.

Haryana authorities have decided to slap a showcause notice on the actress for violating the arms act as the gun Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi is alleged to have used during the June 2005 hunt in Jhajjar district was issued in her name.

Gurgaon deputy commissioner Rakesh Gupta said Soha was issued the licence on November 1996 when she was just 18, whereas the minimum age for getting a gun licence is 21.

He also said the file containing documents related to the licence was missing and added that an FIR would be lodged against unnamed persons.

The officer said Pataudi took permission for carrying the .22 bore rifle No. 91501 “as retainer” on January 7, 2000, but police seized the weapon after the shooting incident.

Gurgaon sub-divisional magistrate J.S. Sangwan, however, renewed the licence in October 2005 without verifying the fact that the gun was in police custody, Gupta said. As the weapon had been used illegally, its licence shouldn’t have been renewed, he added.

Gupta claimed that Sangwan renewed the licence as the Gurgaon administration had no information from Jhajjar police that the weapon had allegedly been used by the former cricketer for hunting down an endangered animal.

He said if it was established that Pataudi had used the same weapon in killing the black buck, action would be taken against him and Soha for violating the arms act and misleading the Gurgaon administration.

Sources said Soha would be given two weeks to reply to the showcause notice.