Centre forms panel to find alternative to pellet guns

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday moved ahead to find an alternative to the controversial pellet guns that have been held responsible for vision loss of dozens of protesters in strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday approved the constitution of a seven-member expert committee, headed by home ministry’s joint secretary (police modernisation) TVSN Prasad, for exploring the other possible alternatives to pellet guns.

According to a statement by the home ministry, other members of the committee are CRPF Inspector General in Srinagar, Atul Karwal, BSF Inspector General (operations), Rajeev Krishna, J&K cadre IPS officer, Rajesh Kumar, deputy director general (small arms) in the Ordinance Factory Board, Tushar Tripathy, director of Terminal Ballistic Research Laboratory (Chandigarh), Dr Manjit Singh and IIT-Delhi professor, Dr Naresh Bhatnagar. The committee will submit its report within two months.

CRPF chief K Durga Prasad, who will visit the state on Wednesday, expressed regret on Monday for injuries caused by pellet guns but said security forces would continue to use this ”least lethal” weapon though only in ”extreme” situations.

The Congress termed as “disturbing” the CRPF DG’s statement. “The use of pellet guns is unacceptable. Nowhere in the civilised world are these guns used. These should be immediately banned,” senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said.