New Delhi: Lower House, Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament was informed on Tuesday that ‘less lethal’ plastic bullets will be used to tackle ‘law and order’ situations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, in a written reply said, “The government has decided to introduce less lethal plastic bullets also to be used in tackling law and order situations in Jammu and Kashmir.”
Ahir also said the government has no plans for enhanced use of bunkers to protect forces from stone throwers after the annual shift of the capital from Jammu to Srinagar in the next few days.
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He also said that the response which Dineshwar Sharma, Government of India’s interlocutor has got from the people has been ‘very positive.’
“The response from the people of Jammu and Kashmir has been very positive. A large number of delegations and individuals representing various sections of society and particularly youths have already interacted with the Government of India representative,” he said.
Last year, the Supreme Court of India had asked the Government to consider other means than pellet guns for crowd control in Jammu and Kashmir.
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Ram Madhav, BJP’s National General Secretary, during an all-India meet in Delhi had said that the use of pellet guns should be minimized as the situation has ‘improved’ to a large extent since the 2016 uprising.
Recently, Human Rights Group Amnesty International started an online and postcard campaign to gather support from the people of Jammu and Kashmir for banning pellet guns. The campaign aims to make people write postcards to the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti seeking a ban on pump action guns.
