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| Indian Policeman firing a pellet gun (Image: Flickr User - Two Circles) |
Chief of Central Reserve Police Force said that the injuries could be minimized but cannot be brought to a zero level. Chances are high that Protesting Kashmiris in Indian administered Kashmir may face pellet guns at their feet; for now.
New Delhi (Sputnik) — India's Central Reserve Police Force, responsible for handling protests in Kashmir, has said that a softer version of weapon would be used against protesters in Indian administered Kashmir.
"The pellet guns are one of the many options that we will use when we operate to control protesters in the coming days. PAVA (packed with chilli) shells have a long shelf life and they are good in certain situations… But we have made it clear that the CRPF man on ground will use whatever the situation demands. However, we have asked our men to fire at the feet now," K Durga Prasad, Director General of CRPF, told Media.
Indian forces are also modifying pellet guns to make them less lethal. New pellet guns will be attached with metal deflector on the muzzle end to prevent the pellets to going up from the aim. "By using 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," CRPF officer said.
It is important to mention here that more than seven thousand persons have been injured and several lost visions and life by pellet guns during ongoing unrest since July last year. Following uproar caused by the injuries, government had considered the use of PAVA shells but CRPF and other forces continue to use pellet firing guns against the stone pelting mobs.
According to official figure, there were 142 incidents of stone pelting reported on CRPF camps since July last year when forces had gunned down a local militant Burhan Wani in an encounter.
This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.