The unusually high cases of stone-pelting incidents in 2016 were largely on account of violent protests that broke out after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in an encounter in July of that year. The total stone-pelting incidents recorded in 2015 were 730.
Ahir, in written reply to another question in the Rajya Sabha, said 13 protesters were killed in 2016 due to pellets fired at them, while there were four fatalities from pellets last year. All the 13 killings in 2016 pertained to the four months of unrest following Wani’s killing .
Ahir said the central government had constituted an expert committee in July 26, 2016 to explore possible alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons.
The recommendations of the committee were taken into account by the government for appropriate implementation and accordingly, various measures, including the use of such as using PAVA-Chilli (shells and grenades) and STUN-LAC (shells and grenades) and tear smoke shells were used to disperse the unlawful violent protesters before the use of pellet guns, he said.