Pellet guns may be dropped: HM

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has promised a new alternative to the deadly pellet gun which is one of the more irritating aspects of the unrest in the Kashmir valley.

At a news conference held jointly in Srinagar with state chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, Singh declared: ‘‘An expert committee set up by the Home Ministry and mandated to look for an alternative to pellet guns is expected to give its report in two-three days.”

(It is understood that the alternative to pellet guns might be 'PAVA shells' -- a chilli based ammunition, which is less lethal and immobilises the target temporarily. The committee held a demonstration of the newly developed shells at a test field this week and gave it the thumbs up for use by security forces for crowd control).

This is Singh's second visit to the trouble torn valley within a month and comes with a sense of urgency building up that there should be a political solution to the tensions in the state. There is also sense of unease about the political viability of the of the PDP-BJP alliance government in the state. There are indications that the sections of the PDP believe that the coalition arrangement is exacting political cost from the PDP.

Some of this tension was palpable when confronted by tough questions an angry Mehbooba brought to an abrupt end the joint press conference with Rajnath Singh, when her stand on ongoing protests was compared with her position during the 2010 unrest.

Singh, who was seated next to the chief minister on the dais, was seen making gestures to pacify Mehbooba who took on a reporter when reminded about her opposition to use of force and locking up of separatists in 2010 when rival NC leader Omar Abdullah was the Chief Minister.

"Muje kya bolenge yeh, Sir. Maine inke bachon ko bachaya hai Task Force se (What can they tell me? I have saved their kids from the Special Task Force)," said Mehbooba, who lost her cool;

then she got up with an abrupt "thank you,’’ asked the press to ‘‘have a cup of tea" and wound up the press meet. The 57-year-old Mehbooba was visibly irritated when a reporter asked her about her stand during the 2010 agitation and quoted her interviews in which she had questioned the then government led by Omar Abdullah for using force against children and the arrest of Hurriyat leaders. The reporter while posing a query about her stand during the ongoing unrest in the Valley also made an observation that she and Omar had only swapped places, it seems. Mehbooba replied, "This is a wrong analysis. In 2010, there was a fake encounter in Machil where three civilians were killed. After that there were rape and murder allegations in Shopian..." When other reporters wanted to chip in with supplementary questions and clarification, she shouted back, "Let me complete first,’’ and continued, "This time an encounter took place in which three militants were killed, how is the government responsible for that? "People came on streets, we imposed curfew. Did the children go to army camps to buy toffees (candy)? Was the 15-year-old boy, who attacked the police station at Damhal Hanjipora (in south Kashmir), going there to get milk. Don't compare both the things. People had genuine anger at that time (2010)," she said.