New Delhi:
An inquiry team from India’s elite paramilitary force is probing the alleged use of pellet guns on young protesters during the massive agitation over exam paper leaks in the national capital. The report by a CRPF team on the illegal use of pellet guns is expected within the next week, sources said.
The Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel who used such lethal force on protesters have been identified, an official privy to the inquiry has told NDTV.
Pellet guns and shock batons are part of the gear of the RAF, the riot-control wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
The inquiry team will also find out the circumstances under which pellet guns were fired and the locations they were used, sources said, adding that further action will be taken based on that report.
Read: “Saw Cop Pointing His Pellet Gun At Me”: Man Injured In CJP Protest To NDTV
A government hospital had earlier confirmed pellet wounds on one victim, with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi demanding to know if the government had approved the use of pellet guns.
The alleged use of excessive force on student protests pertains to the July 20 events, when a march was taken out to Parliament on the first day of Monsoon Session to seek Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as education minister.
The police used tear gas and lathi-charge after violence erupted during the march. The students alleged they also used pellet guns, but the police denied it. “Delhi Police neither possess pellet guns nor do they use them in the ongoing protest,” officials said.
The RAF remained silent, but evidence was ample.
Read: “Stop Lying”: Pellet Victim By His Side, Rahul Gandhi Targets Centre
A 28-year-old protester told NDTV that he had 30 pellet injuries on his body. The government-run Safdarjung hospital has confirmed the tiny red perforations on his body as pellet injuries. His hospital case sheet showed that he had “darkened skin around wounds, pellet shards stuck to skin and tenderness on impact sites.”
Made of metal or rubber and dispersed at 1,000 feet per second, such pellets can cause tissue damage and come with a mandate that such guns should always be fired below the waist.
However, in this case, the pellet injuries were to his elbow and back. “I saw a policeman pointing his pellet gun at me. I ran and the pellets got stuck in my back and hand. If I had not been aware, it would have hit me in the front,” the victim told NDTV, quickly pointing out he wasn’t sure if he was from the police or RAF.
Read: “Shards Stuck To Skin”: Hospital Report Shows Pellet Guns Used At CJP Protest
Rahul Gandhi posted a video alongside another pellet gun victim, Sahil Lohchab, what he said served as proof of excesses on the students. “The government must stop lying. They have fired guns at the future of India,” he said.
The Leader of Opposition has also written to Home Minister Amit Shah for what he described as a “barbaric assault” on a peaceful protest and asked him if he had approached the use of “lethal force.”
The opposition raised the issue again as Parliament resumed its session this morning. Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, slammed the police excesses. The House had to be eventually adjourned amid chaos.
