CRPF gave a demonstration of how a deflector-fitted pellet gun will make a difference.
The controversial pellet gun is going in for a modification to minimise its lethal effects. The shot gun has caused serious injuries, including blinding hundreds of people during the months-long unrest in Kashmir last year. The Central Reserve Police Force or CRPF has now come up with a deflector that will be fit on the muzzle of the gun so that the metal pellets fired hit the target on the legs.
At a CRPF camp in Srinagar, commanding officer Rajesh Yadav gave us a demonstration of how a deflector-fitted pellet gun will make a difference.
"We have planned to use this deflector. It's basically to control and restrict the spread of pellets, particularly the upward spread. Because whenever it has being fired during the last five months it has been observed that few injuries were on upper part of body - face and eyes also. The intention is to control that effect," said Mr Yadav.
In last one year pellet guns have been widely used causing widespread outrage because of its devastating impact on victims. The outgoing CRPF chief said they are using the gun because other non-lethal weapons could not prove effective to deal with the unrest.
"Situation has worsened so much that we have to fire, so instead of fire guns we will use pellet guns, a modified version of it so that we don't hurt people where we don't want it to," said Durga Prasad, outgoing director general of the CRPF.
Besides several deaths, over 6,000 people were injured due to pellet firing during the four-month long unrest in the Kashmir valley since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in July. Of them, around 1,200 were hit in the eyes - many of them were partially or permanently blinded. Even as chilli-filled grenades or PAVA were used as an alternative to pellet gun, the CRPF says the chilli grenades did not prove effective to deal with the crowds. The human rights defenders say the continuous use of lethal weapons to deal with crowds is worsening the situation.
"The problem with this proposed change in use of pellet guns is that government wants to continue with the same politics and policy," said Khuram Parvez, a well-known human rights defender in Kashmir.
While officials say modified pellet gun is as an important step to minimise casualties and grave injuries like blinding of young people, the critics say instead of political engagement, the government continues to experiment with weapons to deal with situation.