New Delhi, India – Amnesty International has released a damning report detailing the Indian government’s deployment of lethal weaponry, including pellet-firing shotguns, grenades, batons, and electric shock devices, against demonstrators during Gen Z protests that erupted in New Delhi last month. The investigation reveals a pattern of excessive force and a deliberate disregard for international law and human rights standards.
On July 20th, thousands of protesters, largely shutting down New Delhi’s Parliament Street, effectively paralyzed the capital, demanding the resignation of then-Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following a string of examination scandals involving the leaking of national exam papers and other irregularities. The government’s response was swift and decisive, with over 100 students injured in the crackdown, a number that has sparked widespread condemnation.
The report details the use of tactics that Indian law enforcement manuals explicitly warn against, including the deployment of pellet guns. In July, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical youth movement, called on its supporters to march on the Indian Parliament, but the police forcibly removed Sonam Wangchuk, a prominent activist, who had been participating in a hunger strike. This act galvanized further protests, driving out more protesters and intensifying the situation.
Following the July 20th march, police utilized tear gas as protesters swelled, followed by the deployment of electric shock batons and pellet guns, as verified by the Evidence Lab. Amnesty International’s report notes that the police publicly denied any disproportionate use of force, specifically pellet gun usage. The police also repeated this before India’s top court during a hearing about the alleged use of excessive force.
Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab independently verified two videos showing a paramilitary Rapid Action Force (RAF) officer firing a shotgun into the crowd at the intersection of Connaught Place and Parliament Street. Two protesters had wounds consistent with pellet injuries, which were reflected in their medical records. The report also identified that the police had reportedly used lathis, the Indian version of batons, to beat protesters while uniformed officers stood by, without intervening.
Furthermore, the investigation uncovered that the police had deployed metal pellets for over a decade in Indian-administered Kashmir, leading to the first mass blinding during a 2016 civilian uprising. The report also found that men in civilian clothing were beating protesters while uniformed officers, who escorted them toward the crowd, stood beside them and made no attempt to intervene, as observed in videos seen by Al Jazeera.
The government, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, has called on Home Minister Amit Shah, seen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s confidant, to answer questions about the alleged police brutality and has joined protesters in calling for his resignation. However, the Modi government has repeatedly insisted that security forces had been measured in their response to the protests and denied using excessive force.
Despite mounting evidence and growing political criticism, the government has repeatedly reiterated its insistence that security forces had been measured in their response to the protests and denied using excessive force. The report indicates that the Delhi Police had publicly denied any disproportionate use of force, specifically pellet guns. The police also repeated this before India’s top court during a hearing about the alleged use of excessive force.
The UN special rapporteur on torture considers lathis to be inherently cruel, inhuman, or degrading as ‘they deliver a greater level of kinetic force than conventional batons, causing excessive pain and increasing the risk of serious injury’ and has called for them to be prohibited, a position that Amnesty International supports.
Amnesty also found that men in civilian clothing were beating protesters while uniformed officers, who escorted them toward the crowd, stand beside them and make no attempt to intervene, as visible in videos seen by Al Jazeera.
Amnesty has also verified claims that the police used lathis, the Indian version of batons, to beat protesters. The group also found that there were men in civilian clothing beating protesters ‘while uniformed officers, who escorted them toward the crowd, stand beside them and make no attempt to intervene’, as visible in videos seen by Al Jazeera.
The report highlighted that the police had been refusing to register complaints about the pellet gun usage on protesters, as recommended by the Indian government’s Bureau for Police Research and Development. Police and security forces have used metal pellets for more than a decade in Indian-administered Kashmir, leading to the first mass blinding during a 2016 civilian uprising.
Following the July 20th march, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke stated, “Every police person who attacked you would be identified and dragged to the courts.” The group also launched a platform for protesters to upload videos and photos from the crackdown.
Amnesty has also verified claims that the police had deployed tear gas grenades to disperse the crowd at several places in New Delhi, as seen by Al Jazeera. The group also noted that witnesses observed that ‘tear gas grenades were launched directly at protesters instead of at an angled trajectory above the head of protesters, at odds with UN Guidance on the use of Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement’,”
The report concluded that the police had used lathis, the Indian version of batons, to beat protesters while uniformed officers stood by, without intervening, highlighting a pattern of excessive force and a lack of accountability.
The government has responded by stating that the reports of pellet injuries during the crackdown were ‘fake news’, ‘completely false and misleading’, and warned that ‘appropriate legal action’ would be taken against anyone ‘spreading rumours’. Aakar Patel, chair of the board, Amnesty International India, said, ‘This heavy-handed response was state-sanctioned violence masked as crowd control. The continued impunity after a month is a testament to that.’ “Instead of facilitating the right to protest, Indian authorities suppressed it first with a communication blackout, barricades and transport disruption. They then attempted to crush it with unnecessary or excessive use of force against peaceful protesters, including children,” Patel said.
Gandhi argued that either Shah ordered the usage of lethal weapons, in which case ‘he is guilty’, or he was unaware of the situation, which makes him ‘incompetent’ for the job,” said Aakar Patel. Gandhi staged a seven-hour sit-in outside the office of the Delhi Police chief, insisting that a case be registered over the use of pellet guns on protesters, alongside Lochab.
Source: Al Jazeera
