The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday refused to ban the use of pellet guns for crowd control in the valley saying the usage is inevitable if there is violence by an unruly mob.

 

 

The Bar had in 2016 sought a ban on the use of pellet guns in the valley and sought sanction for prosecution against security officers for using pellet guns against protesters. However, the High Court had dismissed the petition filed by High Court Bar Association of J&K justifying the use of pellet guns.

 

 

The valley had witnessed the outrage by thousands of protestors when Burhan Wani, the militant commander had been killed last year on July 8. The Government forces had fired bullets and pellets that led to the killing of over 100 protestors and thousands being injured.

 

 

‘Would have no recourse in extreme situations, pellet guns better than using rifles which may cause more fatalities’ says CRPF

 

 

In July 2016, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, after seeing condition of pellet wounded youngsters, filed a petition asking for ban on the use of pellet guns by the government forces. Later the centre government also said it constituted an expert committee to explore an alternative to pellet guns. However, it said, there cannot be a complete withdrawal of the use of pellet guns in the Valley. According to the health ministry officials over 1,100 youths have got visually impaired due to the pellet gun injuries in their eyes and some of them have turned blind.

 

 

Responding to the petition of the Bar, which was seeking ban on pellet guns, the CRPF had told the JK High Court on August 17, 2016 that 3765 cartridges of 9 number had been fired from the pump-action guns since the July 8, 2016. With each cartridge contains 450 metallic balls, the CRPF have used 1.3 million pellets on protesters in two months.