Use only non-lethal ways to tackle civil disturbances

Home Minister P Chidambaram today said the recurring challenge that security forces were facing was how to deal with civil disturbances and how much force to use to deal with them.

"The right to dissent and the right to protest are basic rights in an open society. However, we find that more often than not such protests turn violent. We saw indiscriminate stone pelting in Jammu and Kashmir in the summer of 2010," he said addressing the conference of DGPs and IGPs here.

Chidambaram said following the turbulent summer of 2010 in Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre has advised the security forces to re-write the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and use only non-lethal methods to control civil disturbances, including stone pelting.

"I urge all state police forces to revise their standard operating procedures to deal with civil disturbances. The use of non-lethal methods to control unarmed civilian protestors must become the new standard operating procedure," he said.

Complimenting the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Armed Police Forces for adopting a completely new strategy and successfully dealing with the incidents of stone pelting, the Home Minister said this summer has, by and large, been peaceful in the state.