“The decision to clear an alternative measure to use of pellet guns which assumed a major controversial issue in Kashmir fulfills Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s assurance given to the people of the state during his visit to J&K on August 25”, the source said.
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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said the use of chilli-based “Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide” (PAVA) shells as an alternative to pellet guns in order to control agitating people in Kashmir should be welcomed by all.
The use of PAVA was recommended by a seven-member expert committee, headed by Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry T V S N Prasad, in its report submitted on August 29.
The government has been coming under growing pressure over the level of casualties in Kashmir during protests against Indian rule since the death of a popular rebel leader Burhan Wani on July 8 in a gunbattle with soldiers.
Since early July, almost 4,000 people have been injured and one killed by pellet guns as India grapples with the biggest protests in Kashmir since 2010. Troops have used live ammunition and pellet guns to control rock-throwing crowds, killing more than 70 people and leaving thousands of others injured.
Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.
Also called Nonivamide, the use of PAVA seeks to “temporarily incapacitate people” so that they can be detained easily prior to arrest or deterred from acts of violence toward law-enforcement personnel and security forces, the source said.
The pellet guns are meant to minimise fatalities in protests although the law gives the armed forces a relatively free hand to use lethal force, especially against suspected militants. More than 100 people have gone full or partially blind after being hit in the eye with the pellets, while hospitals said they had treated more around 600 people for eye injuries.
Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh holds a press conference in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016.
Police surrounded the residence of senior APHC leader, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi to prevent him from leading a pro-freedom rally in Khanpora area of Badgam.
Singh said India was “pained” by the unrest in Kashmir, but lashed out at separatists for refusing to talk.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both.
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Several rebel groups have for decades fought Indian soldiers – now numbering around 500,000 – deployed in the territory. Most Kashmiris want an end to Indian rule and favor independence or a merger with Pakistan.
