To explore the other possible alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons.
Why committee was formed?
- In this gun, pellets are loaded with lead balls and once fired disperse into huge numbers.
- They may not kill the person they hit, but penetrates skin tissue and cause serious injuries.
- Pellet guns are being used since 2010 in Kashmir to disperse and control crowd i.e. as deterrence to antisocial elements.
- The use of pellet guns is blamed for causing fatal injuries and blindness among protestors in Kashmir
Suggestions made
- 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.
What government has accepted?
Government has approved Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide (PAVA) shells as an alternative to pellet guns