Expert committee submits report on alternatives to pellet guns

New Delhi: A seven-member expert committee set up for exploring other possible alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons has submitted its report to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi here on Monday. The committee under the chairmanship of Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary T.V.S.N. Prasad comprised CRPF IG Atul Karwal, Srinagar IG (Ops.) Rajeev Krishna, BSF Rajesh Kumar, IPS, J&K Police, IOFS, DDG, Small Arms, OFB Tushar Tripathy, TBRL Director, Chandigarh, Dr. Manjit Singh, and IIT Delhi Professor Dr. Naresh Bhatnagar. The recent violence in Jammu and Kashmir has brought pellet guns into focus as over hundred people are being treated for severe eye injuries after security forces fired pellets to contain violence there post the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani. Security forces claim that it is a "non lethal weapon", but doctors treating pellet victims say it maims a person forever. Pellets are loaded with lead and once fired they disperse in huge numbers, and penetrate the skin's soft tissues, and eye being the delicate structure is the most vulnerable to damage. Once the pellet goes inside an eye it shatters tissues and causes multiple damages to all parts of the eye. It was introduced by the state police in 2010. Both mainstream and separatist leaders have always raised their voice against the use of pellet guns.