Stop The Use Of Pellet Guns In Kashmir

Use of pellet guns on protesters in Kashmir has blinded hundreds of young boys. Since the last major outbreak of violence which occurred in 2010. Indian police and paramilitary forces have been using pellet guns to suppress protests and riots. These weapons are intended to be "non-lethal." They are certainly useful in dispersing crowds.
But being blinded,of course,has severe consequences for the victim and their family. It is not like being shot in the arm or anywhere else on the body, where healing might be easier. Someone whose eyes are hit by pellets may never see light again.
The government of India and the state government of Kashmir must immediately order their police forces to immediately stop using pellet guns and the lethal cartridges that they use. Any further usage of such weapons, which have caused extensive, arbitrary deaths and grievous wounds, would be not just callous, but a criminal act.
The apparently indiscriminate use of allegedly “non-lethal” weapons like pellet guns to control crowds has resulted in 43 civilians having lost their lives so far. Hundreds have been blinded and a few thousand injured.
Protests in Kashmir have primarily involved stone throwing from demonstrators, with police and security force personnel responding with gunfire from firearms or pellet guns. The indiscriminate and excessive force used by state forces in Kashmir has no parallel anywhere in India.
Stone throwing does not give police the right to shoot at protestors indiscriminately. Deadly force should only be used when it is unavoidable and proportionate to the crowd’s actions. Proportionality, necessity and calibration are key principles governing the use of force within national and international law.
Pellet guns were first introduced in Kashmir in 2010 for crowd control as a “non-lethal” alternative to other deadlier weapons. Nevertheless, in 2010, 14-year-old Irshad Ahmad Parray and 20-year-old Mudasir Nazir lost their lives to pellet gun injuries. These boys are two of ten victims who have been killed by pellet guns since 2010, yet these guns are considered the better option, a “non-lethal” choice to control crowds. It is reported that at least 92 people have lost their eyesight and at least 1,500 people have sustained serious injuries from pellet guns since 2010.
Domestic procedures and a recent Supreme Court decision
Domestic procedures on crowd control should reflect international expectations of proportionality and necessity. In an unnamed official document, provided by a confidential source, it is dictated that crowd control tactics must aim to minimise collateral damage and avoid the loss of human life, and that during training, an emphasis should be placed on respecting human rights. On paper, these procedures should protect Kashmiris, but in reality they are not followed.
During a crowd control operation, only two to five officers should have non-lethal weapons and banners should be used to warn the unlawful assembly prior to the deployment of any force. Additionally, the document states that when firing becomes necessary, which is only after efforts are made to disperse a crowd without force, every attempt should be made to fire below the waist. With the number of eye injuries Kashmiri citizens are facing, it is hard to believe that any attempt was made to fire below the waist.
Moreover, if shooting is resorted to, firing must be in single shot mode. Yet pellet guns fire hundreds of tiny shots with each cartridge. This goes hand in hand with the requirement that fire only be directed towards the most violent sections of a stone-pelting mob, not the mob in its entirety. Pellet guns do not offer effective aim to target the crowd accordingly and many peaceful protestors and bystanders have been injured during their use.
Furthermore, this document orders that women and children demonstrators only be dealt with by female officers and that water cannons, tear gas smoke, and if necessary stun grenades be used to disperse these demonstrators. The number of young victims affected by the current crowd control measures in Kashmir, particularly young boys, and the use of pellet guns on women and children refutes that this objective has been upheld.
Regrettably, the current state of law in India grants government officers impunity for even the most serious human rights violations, including the current pellet attacks and breakdowns in crowd control procedure. The Indian Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) produces de facto immunity for police officers, members of the armed forces and other government officials. Section 197 of the CrPC says that no court has jurisdiction over an alleged criminal offence committed by a government official “while acting or purporting to act within the discharge of his official duty”, without first obtaining authorisation from the requisite central or state government.
The government of India and the state government of Kashmir must immediately order their police forces to immediately stop using pellet guns and the lethal cartridges that they use. Any further usage of such weapons, which have caused extensive, arbitrary deaths and grievous wounds, would be not just callous, but a criminal act.
The apparently indiscriminate use of allegedly “non-lethal” weapons like pellet guns to control crowds has resulted in 43 civilians having lost their lives so far. Hundreds have been blinded and a few thousand injured.
Protests in Kashmir have primarily involved stone throwing from demonstrators, with police and security force personnel responding with gunfire from firearms or pellet guns. The indiscriminate and excessive force used by state forces in Kashmir has no parallel anywhere in India.
Stone throwing does not give police the right to shoot at protestors indiscriminately. Deadly force should only be used when it is unavoidable and proportionate to the crowd’s actions. Proportionality, necessity and calibration are key principles governing the use of force within national and international law.
Pellet guns were first introduced in Kashmir in 2010 for crowd control as a “non-lethal” alternative to other deadlier weapons. Nevertheless, in 2010, 14-year-old Irshad Ahmad Parray and 20-year-old Mudasir Nazir lost their lives to pellet gun injuries. These boys are two of ten victims who have been killed by pellet guns since 2010, yet these guns are considered the better option, a “non-lethal” choice to control crowds. It is reported that at least 92 people have lost their eyesight and at least 1,500 people have sustained serious injuries from pellet guns since 2010.
Domestic procedures and a recent Supreme Court decision
Domestic procedures on crowd control should reflect international expectations of proportionality and necessity. In an unnamed official document, provided by a confidential source, it is dictated that crowd control tactics must aim to minimise collateral damage and avoid the loss of human life, and that during training, an emphasis should be placed on respecting human rights. On paper, these procedures should protect Kashmiris, but in reality they are not followed.
During a crowd control operation, only two to five officers should have non-lethal weapons and banners should be used to warn the unlawful assembly prior to the deployment of any force. Additionally, the document states that when firing becomes necessary, which is only after efforts are made to disperse a crowd without force, every attempt should be made to fire below the waist. With the number of eye injuries Kashmiri citizens are facing, it is hard to believe that any attempt was made to fire below the waist.
Moreover, if shooting is resorted to, firing must be in single shot mode. Yet pellet guns fire hundreds of tiny shots with each cartridge. This goes hand in hand with the requirement that fire only be directed towards the most violent sections of a stone-pelting mob, not the mob in its entirety. Pellet guns do not offer effective aim to target the crowd accordingly and many peaceful protestors and bystanders have been injured during their use.
Furthermore, this document orders that women and children demonstrators only be dealt with by female officers and that water cannons, tear gas smoke, and if necessary stun grenades be used to disperse these demonstrators. The number of young victims affected by the current crowd control measures in Kashmir, particularly young boys, and the use of pellet guns on women and children refutes that this objective has been upheld.
Regrettably, the current state of law in India grants government officers impunity for even the most serious human rights violations, including the current pellet attacks and breakdowns in crowd control procedure. The Indian Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) produces de facto immunity for police officers, members of the armed forces and other government officials. Section 197 of the CrPC says that no court has jurisdiction over an alleged criminal offence committed by a government official “while acting or purporting to act within the discharge of his official duty”, without first obtaining authorisation from the requisite central or state government.