HYDERABAD: In spite of its controversial use in
Kashmir, the pellet gun attracted a lot of attention at the first Indian Police Expo held at People's Plaza. The expo has been organised by the
Telangana police in association with Union ministry of home affairs.
Over the past two days, the weapon has been the cynosure of all eyes at the
CRPF stall, even though a hundred odd Kashmiris were blinded by pellets shot at them in the recent strife in the Valley. Interestingly , pelargonic acid vanillyl amide (PAVA), the latest alternative to the pellet gun, was conspicuous in its absence at the CRPF display.
A guide at the CRPF stall was at the receiving end of a barrage of questions from curious visitors wanting to know if the pellet gun was the same weapon used in Kashmir. “Visitors at the CRPF stall showed keen interest in the AK-47 and the pellet gun.We tell them that the weapon is used only in extreme circumstances,“ CRPF officer
Kirpal Singh
told TOI. “Earlier, it was called `missile gun' and later renamed as `anti riot gun',“ the guide said. Apart from the pellet gun, 7.62-mm medium machine gun, 84-mm
Carl Gustav
rocket launcher and 30-mm automatic grenade launcher system have also been drawing crowds. In view of the response, DGP Anurag Sharma extended the expo by a day, till Monday.