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Fired live rounds but in air and self-defence: Kanpur police
The Kanpur police on Tuesday admitted that it fired four live rounds in air, but in self-defence, during the anti-Citizenship (amendment) Act protests.
The Kanpur police on Tuesday admitted that it fired four live rounds in air, but in self-defence, during the anti-Citizenship (amendment) Act protests.
As many as 12 people were hit in the firing, six of them critically, after the violence broke out during the protests on Friday last, according to LLR hospital records.
Three of the critically injured died at the LLR hospital during treatment.
SSP Kanpur Anant Deo said, “Four rounds from 9 mm pistols were fired in air purely in self-defence; 40 policemen, two sub-inspectors were injured too.”
“Police behaved in a professional restrained manner in dealing with the protestors and rioters; we fired the rubbers bullets and plastic pellets to control the situation,” he said.
“Protestors fired at policemen from 312, .312 .315, .32 bore pistols,” he added.
This is the first time that a senior police officer has come on record admitting about firing of live rounds.
Uttar Pradesh police chief OP Singh had been maintaining that the police did not fire a single shot anywhere in the state.
On Sunday, a video went viral in which a police officer is seen walking with a pistol at the Yatimkhana area after violence erupted on Saturday evening.
The officer is further seen in the video taking a position and shooting in direction of the protestors. Police officers had dismissed this as a tactic to scare the troublemakers while denying that any shot was fired.
Inspector general of police, Kanpur Mohit Agarwal went on record to claim all the ammunition issued was accounted for and not a single round was missing.
Their stand was contrary to the accounts of the injured, including two minors, Mohd Awez and Mohd Shadab, who maintained that the police fired straight at the protestors. The bullets hit them when they were trying to get into their houses, the injured claimed.
The SSP said the four rounds were fired in air in Babupurwa area alone. Despite the video doing round, the police denied that it did resort to firing at Yatimkhana area.
The Kanpur police have registered a total 17 cases of which 13 were related to the violation of section 144. Rest four cases deal with the arson, firing and stone pelting in Babupurwa and Yatimkhana areas, he said, releasing the posters of protestors having their video grabs as pictures.
“Anyone who gives information will be suitably rewarded and his identity will not be revealed,” he said.
