Delhi against pellet gun ‘blanket ban’

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 29

Even as the government today announced that an all-party delegation led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Kashmir on September 4, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) cautioned against a “blanket ban” on the use of pellet guns in dealing with “violent” protesters.

Noting the efficacy of pellet guns, a senior MHA official said: “Such weapons help personnel to keep civilian casualty to the minimum. So, it is neither desirable nor advisable to ban its use. The security forces have been directed to use it judiciously in the rarest of rare cases.”

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The official said the government, after extensiveconsultations with security agencies dealing with the ground situation in the Valley, had come to the conclusion that banning pellet guns would be “detrimental to handling violent protesters”.

The expert panel, set up by the MHA to find an alternative to pellet guns, is believed to have zeroed in on “PAVA shells”, chilli-based ammunition, which immobilises the target temporarily and is less lethal. The government has been facing severe criticism for using pellet guns to control crowds in Kashmir as their use caused large-scale injuries during the 52-day unrest following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on July 8.

Even during the all-party meeting on Kashmir, which took place on August 11, several Opposition leaders had sought a “complete ban on the use of pellet guns” besides sending a delegation to the Valley. 

The government has agreed to send an all-party delegation and an announcement to the effect was made by the Home Minister during his second visit to Srinagar last week.  

To firm up modalities, Rajnath today held an hour-long discussion with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and BJP chief Amit Shah, where minister of state in PMO Jitender Singh was also present.