Did security forces use pellet guns against protesters in Delhi?
One protester underwent surgery after doctors found multiple pellets lodged in his face and upper body. But Delhi Police has flatly denied it.
But read the denial carefully. It says claims stating that Delhi Police forces used pellet guns against peaceful protesters are completely false and misleading, that they don't even possess pellet guns.
That is wordplay. The Hindu has reported that the pellet guns were fired by the Rapid Action Force, or RAF, which is a unit that comes under the CRPF, not the Delhi Police. But the RAF was deployed alongside the Delhi Police at the protest site, and pellet guns are part of the RAF's crowd-control equipment.
If the allegations are true, this could be the first known instance of pellet guns being used against civilian protesters in Delhi.
So what exactly are these guns, and when are security forces allowed to use them?
The pellet guns used by security forces are 12-gauge pump-action shotguns, and they fire cartridges containing hundreds of small metal pellets. When fired, the pellets spread over a wide area instead of hitting a single target. The government describes them as non-lethal crowd-control weapons, but experts prefer the term "less lethal" because, though they are designed to reduce the risk of death, they can still cause fatal or permanently disabling injuries.
Pellet guns first came into widespread use in Kashmir in 2010, and their use expanded during the 2016 unrest in the Union Territory, when hundreds of civilians suffered serious eye injuries and many permanently lost their vision. More recently, allegations of its usage surfaced during the 2024 farmers' protests. Police denied using them in this instance as well.
The Union government had constituted an Expert Committee in 2016 to explore alternatives to pellet guns. The committee submitted its report, and the government later said its recommendations had been taken into account. Accordingly, it told the Parliament that pellet guns should be used only as a last resort. Before that, the hierarchy of force includes options such as rubber bullets and plastic bullets.
Human rights groups have repeatedly criticised pellet guns because once hundreds of pellets are fired, they cannot be directed at any single individual. That means anyone in the vicinity, including protesters, bystanders, journalists, and even passers-by can be struck, increasing the risk of indiscriminate and life-changing injuries.