Look,whos pelting stones in Srinagar!

We are conducting this training in all districts here. We are putting our entire force through this training by rotation, Inspector General of Police,Kashmir zone,S M Sahai told The Indian Express. The aim is to train and equip our men to control crowds and stone-throwing mobs with minimum use of force. We are trying our best to prevent use of firearms and instead use non-lethal weapons to ensure that there are no casualties.

On the ground of Nedos Hotel,dozens of police and CRPF men are mimicking a real protest. A large group of  securitymen hold stones and pieces of bricks in their hands and wait a dozen yards away from their colleagues in bullet-proof jackets,ready with plastic shields and lathis in their hands. An officer stands in a corner and whistles. The uniformed men who act as protesters start shouting pro-separatist slogans. Soon the pitch of the slogans goes several decibels up and suddenly stone-throwing begins. The shields are hit by bricks and stones. Then the men who act as police and CRPF personnel go for a baton charge and even capture the stone-throwers. There is an announcement on a loudspeaker and a policeman is asking the protesters to disperse.

The drill is replica of the real story that the police and CRPF had to deal with for three consecutive summers in Kashmir now. Sub-Inspector T Dorjey,who has come for the training,said: I think this training will help us not to repeat the mistakes we committed in the past years. We have to ensure that there are no casualties whenever we confront stone-pelting crowds… The instructors insist that even if we fire from our pump-action gun,we have to ensure that we dont hit the protesters above the waist, he said.    

Commanding Officer Prabhakar Tripathi said that the focus was on non-lethal means. We have already introduced pump-action guns. There were certain issues which were rectified to reduce the possibility of casualties. The men are trained so that they know the safe distance to use these weapons. We have also ensured that the gun fires the smallest possible splinters so that there arent any deaths, he said.

We have also procured new and modified body protectors. This new body protector covers all vital organs and there is enough protection against a stone or a brick, he said. Oleoresin grenades,which cause irritation to eyes,have also been introduced. The Taser gun,too,is with us but we dont prefer to use it, he said.

CRPFs Sub-Inspector Sabir Hussain,a middle-aged man with henna-coloured beard,said: There were problems of co-ordination between the forces on ground. I think this drill is helping both us and police to become one cohesive unit. Hassain said if he and colleagues caught a stone-thrower during a protest,everyone would pounce over him and beat him up. Our instructors have asked us to avoid it always because it provokes more protests, he said.

In fact,J&K Police and CRPF felt a need to re-orient their men to deal with normal law-and-order situations as the forces pre-occupation with anti-militancy operations for the last two decades had completely shifted the focus away from policing. It was difficult to change our tact overnight. Now we getting ready to face a protest without the fear of civilian casualties. The idea is that the stone cannot be confronted by a bullet. Its a challenge. We have acquired new equipment,weapons and now we are training our people too, said an officer.