Pellet guns have killed 24, blinded 139 in Kashmir since 2010: Report

According to Union Home ministry, pellet guns, tear gas and chilli-filled shells are considered as non-lethal weapons for controlling crowd during protests

Violent protests in Kashmir are quelled using what the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) describes as ‘non-lethal’ crowd-control measures. These include pellet guns, tear gas and chilli-filled shells (containing PAVA or pelargonic acid vanillyl amide, found in chillies).

But these munitions are far from non-lethal, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of MHA data and Srinagar hospital records.

We found that:

• Tear-gas shells killed five between January 2010 and May 2019, and injured 176 between July 2016 and February 2019.

• Chilli-filled shells killed one and caused respiratory problems in 51 of 294