Will form panel to review pallet gun use, says Rajnath Singh in Parliament

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said a panel will be formed to review pallet gun use for crowd control.

“Only non-lethal weapons should be used to tackle crowds during protests. And it’s not the first time pellet guns were used... We will form a committee to see if there are non-lethal ways to control the crowd,” Rajnath Singh says in LS.

This comes after a wide criticism of use of pallet guns. Pellets, which are loaded with lead, are said to be the main cause of injuries, including some of the fatal ones. In 2010, more than 100 civilians were injured during use of pellet guns on stone pellets.

Mohammed Ashraf, a retired IAS officer from Kashmir, has started an online petition against use of pellets. "The use of pellet guns for controlling crowds is banned all over the world. It is most essential to order immediate stoppage of these in Kashmir," he said.

His petition on change.org started 5-days back has drawn support of more than 10,000 people.