New Delhi: Did a deputy commissioner rank officer of the Delhi Police order Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel to fire pellets at the protesters during the “Sansad Chalo” march on July 20?
A General Diary (GD) entry filed by the RAF at the Parliament Street police station in New Delhi has revealed that two rounds were fired from pellet guns on protesters on that day on the directions of a DCP rank officer.
The RAF operates in coordination with the local police and such GDs have to be made when they fire weapons under the instructions of police officers.
The Delhi Police have, till now, denied any role in the affair that has been brought up before the Parliament and the Supreme Court.
According to the GD entry, the RAF deputy commandant fired 55 rounds of non-electrical shell, 15 rounds of electrical shell, five tear smoke granite, two rounds using ballistic cartridges with plastic pellets from an anti-riot gun to control the crowd during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest, “on the orders of the DCP”, according to a report in The Hindu.
The GD entry was made at 1.24 pm on July 22.
At least three persons were hit with pellets during the protest on July 20. One of them, a 19 year old, risks losing vision in his right eye due to a pellet piercing his pupil, according to his family, as reported by Deccan Herald.
The RAF, an elite anti-riot unit under the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), was deployed along with the Delhi Police on July 20 in and around Jantar Mantar as the CJP had given a call for a march to Parliament to demand the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradesh.
Pump Action Guns (PAGs) and shock-batons are part of the RAF’s anti-riot gear.
While the CRPF and the RAF have not officialy commented on the subject till now, sources have claimed that the personnel who fired the PAG has been identified. An inquiry is underway by senior officials of the CRPF and a report is expected next week.
