NEW DELHI: The government has decided not to discard pellet guns, though it is likely to revise the guidelines on crowd-control tactics to ensure the guns are used in “rare and extreme”situations.
Although pellet guns — along with alternatives like PAVA shells, a chilli-based non-lethal weapon that temporarily incapacitates the target — will continue to be available, police and paramilitary forces will be asked to resort to gradual and incremental use of force. Pellet guns will be fired in the “rarest of rare cases”, a top government official said on Monday.
Though a non-lethal weapon brought in to minimise fatalities, pellet guns’ use during recent protests in J&K reportedly blinded several people, which sparked an uproar. The reasoning behind the decision to retain the guns is that the security forces cannot be put at a disadvantage while dealing with aggressive crowds carrying out synchronised attacks on their personnel.
An expert committee set up last month to examine alternatives submitted its report on Monday. It is believed to have suggested a gradual increment in use of force to disperse crowds, which means methods such as lathicharge and firing of teargas shells have to be exhausted before security personnel move on to PAVA shells. “Pellet guns may be used only as a last resort,” said a government official.
“The idea is to use a method that would ensure minimum casualty and result in least number of injuries while also effectively dispersing the crowds. PAVA shells may be encouraged as a safer alternative to pellet guns,” said a senior officer of the security establishment.
“Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are framed for an ideal situation, but the dynamics in J&K are different from the rest of the country. In J&K, law and order situations can transform into terror attacks in no time, as militants lob grenades from behind the crowds. So, the forces must carry all the crowd-control equipment, including pellet guns and even automatic weapons,” said a J&K-based IPS officer.
(Sourced from agencies, Feature image courtesy:thehindu.com)
