‘Kashmir only place in world where pellet guns are used for crowd control’

Forces continue its liberal use despite options available: Experts

As New Delhi has constituted a team headed by a Joint Secretary in the Union Home Ministry to explore alternatives to pellet guns, experts have revealed that options are already available in the market that could render pellets useless and prevent any further damages to life.
Pellet guns or Shotguns, commonly used in crowd control since 2010 in Kashmir has caused blindness, maimed people and turned fatal in many cases. Voice has been raised both inside the state as well as internationally for stopping its use. According to observers, Kashmir is the only place in the world where pellets continue to be used with such severity on a crowd.
In Parliament, recently former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad opposed the use of pellet guns. “The pellet guns were not used during the Haryana riots despite large-scale violence across the state, then why in Kashmir?” said Azad in the Parliament.
Senior Security Officials in North Block quoted by Telegraph revealed that they already have many better non-lethal crowd-control weapons but they are not effectively used in Kashmir. BSF’s Tear Smoke Unit (TSU) functioning under the Home Ministry makes all the non-lethal crowd-control munitions for the forces except pellets.
“The use of pellets is excessive for controlling crowds; that’s why we don’t make them here,” a TSU official told Telegraph. TSU supplies these non-lethal munitions every year to the forces deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, “but they preferred pellets, made only in the ordnance factory in Ichhapore (near Calcutta)”.
World over the police is using number of non-lethal and effective weapons to manage a crowd. Even Israel has been effectively using non-lethal weapons in Palestine and civilian deaths there on the pattern of Kashmir are unheard of.
In 2008 Israel started the use of Skunk, a foul smelling liquid as a mean of crowd control. Created by the Israeli research and development firm Odortec, Skunk has the “viscosity of water” and “can be sprayed over a large area using a standard water cannon,” Odortec says on its website.
The putrid stench of Skunk can last for days and can cause nausea and vomiting. “The overpowering odor of the Skunk drives rioters away — and keeps them away — effectively shutting down any escalating situation,” Odortec’s website says.
An Israel Defense Forces representative told Al Jazeera that Skunk minimizes “the necessity for the use of live ammunition” and “is a well-known and accepted measure that is in line with international standards and used by many countries throughout the world.”
The most commonly used crowd control measures include firing of Tear Gas (CN and CS), pepper spray, stun grenades and baton charge. All of them have been generously used on protestors in Kashmir with what police says with limited effect. The second line of weapons include rubber bullets, plastic bullets, wooden bullets and bean-bag rounds, baring first none have been reportedly used in Kashmir. At close range these bullets are fatal and have already caused number of deaths in Kashmir, but there are alternatives too. “Plastic bullets were developed by British forces to use in Northern Ireland to be more safe than rubber bullets, and carried less risk of ricocheting uncontrollably,” reads an Aljazeera report on Riot Police Techniques. “Wooden pellets also cause bruises and welts. Shot from a distance, the ammunition is intended to administer pain compliance.”
In many countries police also uses 40mm-caliber sponge rounds that are effective against stone throwers without causing any lethal injury.
Often used in Kashmir on protesting employees, Water Cannons have not been used on protestors during the current turmoil. Even politicians have raised queries if water cannon were used against Jat rioters in Haryana why the same were not employed in Kashmir. If used in conjugation with other weapons like tear gas, water cannons can be very effective in controlling crowd without causing fatal injuries.
One of the effective crowd control commonly used elsewhere in the world, temporary fencing can enhance public safety or provide deterrence. “Composed of steel or lighter-weight plastic, such barriers are often joined to prevent them from being knocked down, and the standard height is 43 inches,” says the report.
Though stun guns and Tasers are also used to incapacitate people by electro-shock pulses, but they have caused around 100 deaths in U.S. leading various countries to ban or limit their use. In 2010 Jammu Kashmir police had a plan to use Tasers and accordingly some officers were equipped, but the plan was later abandoned due to unknown reasons. It is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current of around 900 volts to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. The Taser gun fires two electrically charged pins on the target putting him to shock so much so that he or she goes unconscious instantly.
Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD) which emit low-frequency sonic weapons with pain-inducing tones are also being used in various countries. Developed by a US company, LRAD is used to send messages and warning tones over longer distances or at higher volume than normal loudspeakers. Also known as sonic weapons, LRAD can be used to dispel the crowd in the range of 100 m-2 km, depending upon the size of the device. The device, which creates an irritating noise unbearable for humans, weighs between 6.8 and 150 kg and can emit sounds of up to 152 decibels. If used from a short range, it can also damage a person’s hearing for a while. Delhi Police is also said to be in the process of procuring five LRADs.
In addition, there is also Active Denial System (ADS), known informally as a heat ray, which was deployed to Afghanistan by US military. The under-development weapon directs energy blast which increases skin temperature with a burning sensation thus forcing a protestor to retreat.
Crowd control weapons are supposed to be non-lethal, enabling forces to control crowd without endangering human life. However, there is a unanimous opinion that these non-lethal weapons are dangerous that can cause death, severe injury and damage to property if used improperly.