Labeled as the “non-lethal” weapons by the government, pellet guns that apparently is not supposed to do much damage, created a havoc by wounding at least 15,000 civilians during the unrest that took place in Jammu and Kashmir after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Burhan Wani.
The government had earlier affirmed that they would see if there was a need for looking alternatives to the pellet guns that would be only used to disperse the crowd and not hurt people. According to reports, a modified version of pellet guns are all set to make a comeback. Apparently, the alternative of pellet guns PAVA (pelargonic acid vanillylamide) shells have not been quite effective in managing protests and separating the crowd. Hence, the government is likely to go back to using pellet guns that would only facilitate in dispersing the crowd with minimal injuries during protests.
“The force has taken the decision to modify pellet guns, with the help of BSF, to minimise injuries,” CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad told the media. “We have asked our men to fire at the feet now. By using a deflector, there is only a two per cent chance that the shot fired may hit above the point of aim as compared to the rate of 40 per cent earlier,” he added.
He further asserted that even though PAVA shells have long shelf life, the security officials have been directed to use whatever the situation demands.
During the unrest of 2016 in Kashmir, when the pellet guns wounded around 15,000 civilians were wounded in the street protests, health experts had cautioned that the tiny pellets retained inside the victim’s body could be the “ticking time-bombs” that may explode any day. Scores of people have died and over 1,000 were blinded by the “non-lethal” weapons.
