Ak-47, the most desirable assault to carry by any armed force personnel seems less desirable amongst Police officers. Why is it so?

The police force in Delhi and other states have many types of weapons ranging from AK-47 assault rifles to the INSAS rifles, but it is being observed that cops like to have an MP-5 sub-machine gun over every other weapon when it comes to getting them for their duty. Why it is when everybody says that rifle like AK-47 is unparalleled?

To get the right answer to this question, we need to look at some other features of the sub-machine gun and the assault rifle. However, AK-47 assault rifle has no match at its shooting capacity from the long distance but in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kanpur, Chandigarh and others, policemen say that they do not find themselves in situations often to engage in long-distance encounters. Contrary to this, they would get situations when they face criminals, who could be overpowered with the use of light-weight weapons.

SHOs of Delhi Police notice the proclivity of their men preferring MP-5 sub-machine gun rather than AK-47. Some of them try to find out the reason and every one of them gets the same answer from their subordinates. The answer lies in the fact that MP-5 is a lightweight weapon, which is very effective in short distance situations. SHOs say that the capacity of the AK-47 rifle is unquestioned but ground reality is very obvious. And, this reality is cops do not prefer AK-47 in their routine duty; however, in some extraordinary situations, they would always go for it.

In August this year, the commissioner of Delhi Police, Amulya Patnaik launched his dream project “PRAKRAM” as an anti-terror measure. At the time of planning and launching of this project, it was conceived that commandos of PRAKRAM would be equipped with AK-47 rifles. After its inception, more than two dozen AK-47 rifles were to be handed over to the commandos. However, during their duties, it was felt that MP-5 sub-machine guns would be more pertinent for them to keep, handle and use in situations. However, PRAKRAM commandos have some AK-47 rifles also, but their numbers were not increased from the time of launching. Women commandos more and more prefer MP-5 guns than AK-47 rifles.

In fact, MP-5 is one of the most preferred guns used by the security forces world over. It has proved its worth many times in face-off situations with not only criminal gangs but also in anti-terror operations. Its steel magazine has 15 round and 30 round capacities. However, the AK-47 rifle is the most popular and used worldwide in extreme situations. Such reliability of this weapon proves its worth. Police forces in India have AK-47 rifles, which have 30 round magazines.

Despite the unparalleled record in combating and immense reliability of AK-47, there are two major factors that tilt the balance in favour of MP5, in the perspective of Indian police forces. Weight and length of the MP-5 gun are the major factors. Effective firing range comes next. The weight of AK-47 assault rifle is 3.47 Kg., while it is 2.5 Kg. of MP-5 guns. Cops prefer lightweight at their routine duty. Length of the AK-47 rifle is 880 M.M., while it is 680 M.M. of MP-5 submachine-gun. Policemen go for shorter length for their daily duty. However, effective firing range of the MP-5 gun is only 250 meter, which is much less in comparison to a 350-meter range of the AK-47 rifle. But cops, contrary to soldiers, do not need longer firing range in cities. So it is true that cops love MP-5.