Patna: The Bihar Police Headquarters has issued fresh instructions restricting the use of highly lethal assault weapons during law and order and crowd control duties, police officials said on Thursday.
The move is aimed at reducing the use of excessive force during protests and demonstrations and strengthening public-safety measures.
Under the directive, weapons such as AK-47s, INSAS rifles and SLRs will not be carried or used by police personnel deployed for routine crowd-control operations.
According to Sunil Kumar, ADG (Police Headquarters), the Director General of Police Vinay Kumar has reiterated the instructions to all Superintendents of Police.
Automatic and assault weapons are to be used only during operations involving organised crime, insurgency, terrorism and other serious criminal threats.
ADG Sunil Kumar said that a standing order regarding the matter was already in place and that the state DGP had again directed district police chiefs to ensure strict compliance.
He also said the department has previously taken disciplinary action against police personnel who used such weapons without authorisation.
The directive means that police personnel assigned to ordinary demonstrations, protests and other routine law-and-order situations will not be permitted to carry these highly lethal weapons.
The objective is to ensure that crowd-control measures remain proportionate and that unnecessary use of force is avoided.
The new instructions come amid the controversy surrounding the July 25 student protest incident in Siwan, during which a Police Constable allegedly opened fire.
ADG (Law and Order), K.S. Anupam, said the Constable had not received any order to fire and had acted on his own.
He also clarified that the Constable was not part of the designated crowd-control team and was suspended immediately after the incident.
“There was no order, and he fired at his own discretion. He was not even part of the crowd-control team,” Anupam added.
The issue has become a major political flashpoint in Bihar.
Bihar’s Leader of the Opposition and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has repeatedly demanded accountability over the police action against protesting students.
The RJD has announced an August 19 Raj Bhavan March in Patna over the incident, with Tejashwi likely to lead party MLAs, MLCs and workers.
(IANS)
