Bihar Govt Admits AK47 Use on Protesters but Says No One Was Injured
New Delhi: The Bihar government has told the Supreme Court that that it did use AK47s on youth protesters in Siwan but that no one was injured.
The police action against members of the youth movement in Bihar stood out for its exceptional brutality.
The government said that four shots were fired into the air by one of the constables as he was trapped in the crowd.
LiveLaw reports that in the affidavit denying use of disproportionate force, the Bihar government has further mentioned that near Hathi Chowk, an ASI fired 2 rounds from his 9 mm pistol to disperse the mob and that three protestors suffered “minor firearms injuries”.
The affidavit claims that the three protesters were not injured by the AK47 rifle, nor were they present at the location where the rifle was used.
"AK47 is a platoon level weapon to be used in special operations, not law and order situations," the affidavit says. It further mentions that the State DGP has issued an instruction on the use of AK47.
Siwan Superintendent of Police Puran Kumar Jha had earlier said he had ordered an inquiry and the policeman who had fired AK-47 towards the protesters, had been suspended.
In a related report, The Wire looked at eight FIRs the Patna Police had filed over two days of student protests, July 22 and 25. The FIRs named hundreds of people, and roughly 14,000 ‘unidentified’ others were also charged.
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