The CRPF will continue to use pellet guns for crowd control in extreme situations where loss of life on either side is anticipated. The paramilitary, however, is studying how to minimise damage resulting from use of pellet guns.
Expressing regret for the injuries caused to youth due to firing from pellet guns following the unrest in Jammu & Kashmir after Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani was killed on July 8, CRPF DG K Durga Prasad on Monday said this was the "least lethal" option available with the force.
"We feel sorry for them as youngsters have to bear injuries due to the firing of pellet guns. We ourselves are trying to use it in bare minimum. But we use them under extreme situation when crowd control fails by other means," he said.
Elaborating on the situation in the Valley, officials said as many as 1,051 CRPF personnel were injured in 254 incidents of stone-pelting and 44 other incidents in the unrest following Wani's killing.
Officials said No 9 pellets are the least lethal measure available with the force to avoid risks to life and was fired after other available non-lethal crowd control measures had failed.
The paramilitary had fired 4,821 tear smoke shells, 892 tear smoke grenades, 1,048 rubber bullets, 103 multi-button shells, 1,614 plastic pellets and 136 stun grenades between July 8 to July 23. The paramilitary had fired 2,167 pellet number 9.
Pellet guns were introduced by the UPA Government in 2010 and then No 4 pellets were used which resulted in heavy casualties during stone-pelting incidents that year. A large number of youth were also injured in the last fortnight when they attacked CRPF and local police personnel. The Jammu & Kashmir police also use pellet guns.
Despite being a professional force and maintaining utmost restraint in the wake of stone-pelting incidents, the paramilitary force unduly received criticism for the use of the non-lethal weapon. Following this, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had to announce in Parliament that a committee will be set up to review use of pellet guns and find an alternative to it.
Officials said if the pellet guns were not used, the only available option was firing which could have resulted in fatalities on both the sides.
"Everybody feel bad when youngsters get hit. But still, we will have to use it (pellet guns) in extreme situations as of now. We hope that any such (extreme) situation does not arise (in future)," the CRPF chief said, ahead of the force's 77th raising day on Wednesday.
Prasad said the CRPF is already experimenting with the other options under the less-lethal weapon category available globally.
Explaining the stress under which the CRPF personnel were deployed in Kashmir Valley, he said as many as 114 companies (about 11,400 personnel), which were undergoing training elsewhere, had to be pulled out and deployed in the State to control the situation arising after Wani's death.