Delhi pellet gun claims are drawing fresh scrutiny after independent ballistic experts told the BBC that injuries suffered by several protesters in the Indian capital were consistent with birdshot fire. The cases emerged after last week’s crackdown on a large protest in central Delhi, where supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party tried to march toward parliament to demand education reforms and the resignation of the education minister.
Police and paramilitary personnel used wooden sticks, batons and tear gas as the crowd surged through central Delhi on 20 July, according to the report. Delhi Police said 60 protesters and 118 of its personnel were hurt, while the Cockroach Janta Party said the number of wounded demonstrators was far higher. The government has not confirmed media reports that pellet guns were used, but the BBC said it verified at least four cases in which injured men were treated in hospitals for wounds experts identified as pellet-gun injuries.
Two independent specialists reviewed photographs and video of the injuries. UK-based ballistics forensic scientist Philip Boyce said the wounds were “definitely from a pellet gun,” describing the weapon as a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. He said such injuries can be severe even when a person is struck from a distance, and noted that they can still be dangerous at 100 feet. NR Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services in the UK, said images from the protest showed police using shotguns for crowd control and that the injuries were strongly consistent with birdshot.
Jenzen-Jones also warned that these pellets are not harmless. He said they can cause life-changing or life-threatening injuries and leave toxic lead in the body. Boyce added that shotguns are commonly used for bird hunting in the UK, but he was not aware of any example of them being used there for crowd control. The report also noted that several countries have banned or restricted such weapons.
One of the men the BBC spoke to, Mohit, said he was hurt near Connaught Place after a security officer appeared to aim at him and he turned to run. The 28-year-old journalist said he felt a burning pain in his arm and back, then noticed tiny circular holes after washing the wounds. An X-ray from Safdarjung hospital showed small objects lodged in his arm and upper torso, and his medical records said he had 26 pellet wounds on his right elbow and four on his upper right back.
