Youth Ki Awaaz: J&K: Saturday,
October 29, 2016.
Specifications
of defence equipment like mortars, shells & light machine guns, is
available on the Government’s website, but fierce secrecy is maintained over
pellet guns.
When
13-year-old Junaid Ahmed succumbed to pellet injuries, taking the death toll up
to 89 in the unrest in Kashmir that was triggered by the death of Hizbul
Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani. The boy was hit by pellets fired by security
forces on October 7. This was the second instance where a child was killed due
to pellet injuries.
Despite the
anti-riot weapon inflicting serious injuries on the protesters, pellet guns
have emerged as the Government’s ‘weapon of choice’ to control the crowd.
Pellet guns which are part of the standard operating procedure issued by the
Ministry of Home Affairs, are only widely used in Jammu and Kashmir against the
protesters.
The image of
Kashmiri youth with bandages on their eyes has become a common sight this year.
As the protests peak, hospitals are filling up with victims of pellet injuries.
By maiming and blinding scores of protesters, pellet guns have caused
irreversible damage.
First
introduced in 2010, the pump action guns have caused fatal injuries to
Kashmiris. After using them extensively for six long years, the Government has
refused to divulge information on the anti-riot weapon, rejecting an RTI
application, which sought details about the manufacturers of pellet guns and
the guns’ efficacy.
Defence
Sensitive
Venkatesh
Nayak, the Programme Coordinator at the Common Wealth Human Rights Initiative,
had filed an RTI, seeking information from the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)
about the buyers, manufacturers, sale price, efficacy and specifications of the
pellet guns. Ordnance Factory Board, which works under the Ministry of Defence,
regulates the working of ordnance factories across India. He had also sought
information on evaluation reports and impact of pellet guns on the humans.
However, the OFB refused to share the information, claiming its ‘defence
sensitive information.’
The RTI query
was shot down under section 8 (1) (a) of the Right To Information Act, without
stating how the disclosure of the information on pellet guns would
“prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India and the security,
strategic, scientific and economic interests of the state.”
Selective
Categorisation
While the
information on pellet guns was denied, data on other defence equipment is
freely available on the website of OFB. “Specifications of weapons like light
machine guns and mortars, which are used by the army is provided on the website
of OFB, but details of anti-riot weapons like pellet guns are kept under the
wrap,” laments Nayak.
After the RTI
application had been filed, it was forwarded to several desks by the OFB. The
initial reply also stated that anti-riot weapons are not civilian trade items;
hence the information on pellet guns can’t be revealed.
Response from
another desk said that bore pump action guns are only issued to State Bank of
India and State organisations, so the information on it can’t be revealed.
Lethality
Of Pellet Guns
9 mm sized
pellets which are being deployed against protesters in Kashmir are used in
countries like UK and US to kill tigers, leopards and other soft skin animals.
The lethality of the pellets is denoted by using numbers. Smaller the number,
less the lethality of the pellets.
When security
forces use shotguns against protesters, the only possible way to make them
non-lethal is to fire from a distance of more than 50 meters. Research shows
that “at a close range pellets are extremely lethal. If shot within 5 meters,
the mortality rate in humans is 85-90 percent.”
The
deployment of pellet guns by authoritarian Governments in the Middle East
during the Arab Spring had also triggered massive outrage. In Bahrain, 11
protesters were killed by pellet guns in 2011, sparking global condemnation.
Well-known Egyptian activist Shamia al-Sabbagh was hit on the head by the
pellets fired by the police. Al-Sabbagh’s death has raised questions about the
non-lethality of the guns globally.
The Kashmir
Blind Spot Campaign, an initiative by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil
Society claims that 300 cases of eye damage have been reported in the valley
due to the use of pellet guns by security forces. From 4-year-old Zuhra Majeed
to 14-year-old Insha Malik, pellets have caused irreversible damage.
Outlining the
case of Insha Malik, a resident from South Kashmir’s Shopian, was blinded by
pellets fired by security forces on July 12. Nayak said, “A girl looking
through a window is not a part of your mob. These anti-riot weapons you are
using against your own people. Several of the injured are not even participants
in the protest.”
No Impact
Study
So are the
pellets tested by Indian Government before being deployed against protesters?
Nayak asserts: “If you are selling something like a riot control weapon, the
objective is to control the riot. The primary goal is to prevent the deaths.
You are firing on your own citizens. If you are selling something in the market
saying that these are less lethal weapons, then you must be able to justify
it.”
Pointing out
that the taxpayers’ money is used to buy pellet guns, Nayak adds: “Efficacy of
all other anti-riot weapons is mentioned in the standard operating procedure
except for pellet guns. If somebody is selling wafers or coke, unless it is
tested by some authority if it’s fit for consumption, it won’t be released in
the market. However, there are no studies on the use of pellet guns in Indian
condition.”
Apathy
Towards Suffering
But despite
the large-scale suffering, the Indian government has refused to do away with
the use of pellet guns. The panel set up by the Home Ministry had suggested
replacing pellet guns with pepper grenades (PAVA shells). The reason given for
replacing pellet guns with PAVA shells is that they cause severe irritation to
the eyes but doesn’t cause serious injuries. However, in 2013, three people
were killed by chilli powder grenades. A week into using pepper grenades, the
J&K Police had complained that PAVA or pepper shells may not be the ideal
substitute for pellets.
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