An entry in the general daily diary (DD), or a record logbook, at New Delhi’s Parliament Street Police Station confirmed the use of pellet guns during the Parliament march the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) called after a 23-day-old sit-in hunger strike at Jantar Mantar against examination irregularities on July 20.
The Hindu first reported the DD entry number 0008A, which HT has also seen, in its online edition. The entry noted that a deputy police commissioner (DCP) on duty at the spot, along with the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deputy commandant, ordered at least two rounds of firing. HT reached out to the DCP, but he was unavailable for comment.
The deputy commandant filed the entry, saying the Rapid Action Force (RAF) team fired 55 non-electric shells, 15 electric shells, five tear smoke grenades and two rounds from the ARG (anti-riot gun)—two BC (ballistic cartridges) with PP (plastic pellets) rounds. At least four protesters sustained pellet wounds. One of them is likely to lose his eyesight.
The CRPF is yet to comment on the matter. People aware of an internal inquiry said over a dozen CRPF officers were issued pump action guns (PAG) that fire pellets on July 20.
Former Indian Police Service officer Yashovardhan Azad and pellet victims Prashant Kumar Singh and Sheikh Irshad Mansoori have moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to decommission or prohibit the use of wholly or partly metallic kinetic projectiles or pellets fired from rifles or pump-action guns for dispersing civilian assemblies.
The petition sought compensation for victims of pellet injuries allegedly caused by state action on July 20, besides directions to ensure medical treatment, care and rehabilitation for those injured. It said a wide spray of splinter-like metallic pellets hit Singh and Mansoori.
The matter was likely to be mentioned before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Tuesday morning with a request that it be tagged with the batch of petitions pending before the court concerning the July 20 protests.
The Supreme Court on Monday indicated that it may frame nationwide guidelines governing the handling of protests. It observed that the constitutional right to peaceful protest must be protected, but violence by demonstrators and excessive use of force by police were equally unacceptable.
In Parliament, the Opposition sought accountability from Union home minister Amit Shah over allegations of police excesses and the use of pellet guns during the protests over paper leaks on July 20. The protests led to the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday. The same day, CRPF director general GP Singh said the force would make a professional post-event assessment, as per norm after every major assignment, and then speak on the matter.
The CRPF headquarters is awaiting a report from RAF Inspector General Seema Dhundia on the matter.
The use of pellet guns, categorised as a non-lethal deterrent along with tear gas, rubber bullets and smoke grenades, is included in the RAF’s manual for crowd control.
