Bihar police issues advisory for the use of AK-47 amidst criticism from opposition and society
After facing flak from the opposition and a section of the civil society for using AK-47 during the students’ protest in Bihar, the state police has now framed new rules for the use of the assault rifles.
In an advisory the police stated that weapons like AK-47s, INSAS rifles and self-loading rifles will not be used routinely for crowd control during protests. It will only be deployed in cases of extremely critical situations the advisory added. The advisory follows a visual where a police constable in Siwan was seen firing an AK-47 during the protest against question paper leaks in July.
In its clarification to the Supreme Court, the Counsel representing the police said the constable fired four rounds from the AK-47 only after he became trapped and surrounded by protesters and that the shots were fired into the air. It maintained that nobody was injured during the firing.
Elaborating its response, the police said the personnel should use other means to control the crowd and such weapons should only be used when lives are in danger.
Earlier on Wednesday, leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav led a protest march in Patna over the incident and was detained. Whilst being detained, he said that the opposition would continue its agitation until justice was delivered to the students.”We will continue our fight until justice is delivered to the students… We will keep the fight on. We are not afraid of jail…We will always raise our voice for the rights of the students, curb unemployment, stop paper leaks, and ensure transparency in examinations,” he said.
The Bihar government, in response to the criticism, has also removed Siwan superintendent of police Puran Kumar Jha from his post over the use of an AK-47 by a police constable during the student protests on July 25th. While constable, Abhishek Kumar who fired the rifle has also been suspended, officers who were in charge of Siwan when the incident took place have not yet been given any fresh postings