Rubber bullets to replace pellet guns in Kashmir

New standard operating procedure for dealing with stone pelters in Kashmir is by using Rubber-based shots in place of pellet guns.

The Centre in response to Supreme Court on Monday told that under the new standard operating procedure, they have decided to use rubber based shots in place of pellet guns to deal with stone pelter in Jammu and Kashmir Valley.

Under the new SoP, the Central government said that it is introducing rubber-based shots for stone-pelters in the Valley before pellet guns are used. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the SC that using pellet guns is the last resort and that the idea was not to kill anybody.

AG Rohatgi also told the apex court that they were also exploring other options including the rubber bullets for dispersing the crowd instead of pellet guns. However, the rubber bullet is not as lethal as a pellet gun is. Also, the power Shell, tear gas, laser dazzler & acoustic methods have so far primarily remained not so effective.

AG Rohtagi further told Supreme court that they are working on new non lethal methods to disperse crowd, but due to security reasons, he cannot not name it. Also, the AG Rohtagi said that pellet guns are not used unless violent protesters advance too close to security personnel.

Earlier, the court had expressed concern on the issue and gave two weeks time sought by AG Rohatgi to ponder over the suggestions to look into the effective alternatives to the pellet guns, saying it is the issue of "life and death".

OneIndia News