New Delhi, Aug 31 (PTI) Use of pellet guns on protesters in Delhi is not a human-rights violation, CRPF has claimed, Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale said on Monday.
The former Rajya Sabha MP said he would submit the para force’s reply to the Supreme Court.
In a post on X, Gokhale shared a copy of a Right to Information (RTI) application he filed with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), seeking information on the firing of pellet ammunition by RAF against protesters in Delhi on July 20, the day students took out a march to Parliament at the call of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP).
“CRPF claims use of pellet guns on protestors in Delhi is not a human rights violation. I’d filed an RTI with Rapid Action Force (which is a part of CRPF) asking for information related to the use of pellet guns on unarmed protestors on 20th July during the Jantar Mantar protests,” Gokhale said.
“Under law, CRPF is exempt from RTI Act exception cases related to corruption or human rights violations,” he said.
The CRPF in its reply, however, said the “allegations made in the application do not attract the exception relating to violation of human rights.” “CRPF refused information claiming that using pellet guns on protestors in Delhi is not a human rights violation. When this was appealed, the appellate authority AGAIN denied the info claiming the same excuse,” he said.
He also accused the Centre of trying to deny using pellet guns on protesters at first.
“First the Modi-Shah Govt denied that pellets were used. Then, when exposed, they refused to give details of total number of victims. And now, it is baffling that use of pellet guns (banned under international law) on unarmed youth in India’s capital is not considered to be a human rights violation by Amit Shah’s CRPF,” he said.
“In any civilized democracy, this is a shocking argument to make. I shall now be submitting this to the Hon’ble Supreme Court to request the court’s view on it,” he said.
Earlier, Gokhale said records obtained from Lady Hardinge Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital in response to RTI applications showed nine and one persons, respectively, with pellet gun injuries on July 20.
The AIIMS refused to disclose details sought under the RTI Act about persons who suffered pellet, shot or projectile injuries during the July 20 protests, citing provisions protecting personal information. PTI AO VN VN
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.