Committee report on Pellet guns

A seven-member expert committee headed by T.V.S.N Prasad, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that was constituted to look into the alternatives to pellet guns has been submitted to the Home Secretary.

Suggestions made by the committee:

• No blanket ban on the use of pellet guns. At the most, it will be used in rarest of rare cases.
•  Chilli grenade shells can be used as alternatives.
• Other alternatives are Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide (PAVA) also called Nonivamide and other non-lethal ammunition like ‘stun lac cells’ and Long Range Acoustic Device (LARD) which create deafening noise to paralyse people.
• Henceforth, pellets will not be of metal but of soft material like polymer, soft plastic, rubber and even paper.

Background:

More than 400 people have been injured in J&K due to pellet guns to control the violence which erupted after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter on July 8. The government is facing severe criticism for using the pellet guns and several political parties have asked for its complete withdrawal.