No justification for AK-47 on students, says ex-BSF officer

Former Additional Director General (ADG) of the Border Security Force (BSF) Sanjiv Krishan Sood has questioned the security establishment’s handling of recent student protests in Delhi and Bihar, arguing that force must always follow a graded, proportionate response rather than escalate directly to weapons like pellet guns and AK-47 rifles.

Sood said police operations should typically begin with warnings and water cannons before moving to sterner measures, and that even when pellet guns are used, clear protocols govern their deployment. He added that these weapons should be used “selectively”.

Who ordered use of pellet gun?

He went on to add that the possibility of the policeman firing the pellet gun on his own is “highly unlikely”. He must have done it on the orders of his superiors, who appear to be an RAF (Rapid Action Force) company commander present on the ground. He called for “political accountability” from the Narendra Modi government.

Also read: RAF identifies personnel linked to alleged pellet gun firing in Delhi protest: Report

He was particularly critical of a Bihar (in Siwan district) incident in which a police officer was seen carrying and allegedly firing an AK-47 during a demonstration, saying he saw no operational justification for using such a weapon in a crowd-control setting. Such rifles, he noted, are typically used by central police organisations like CRPF and BSF.

The remarks came during a panel discussion on The Federal’s Capital Beat episode, which examined fallout from two separate incidents — a CRPF inquiry into pellet gun use in Delhi during the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) protest and a controversy over AK-47 use during protests in Bihar's Siwan district.

23 FIRs filed

Sood said repeated confrontations between students and police point to deeper concerns around education policy and the erosion of trust between citizens and the state, warning that similar unrest could recur unless underlying grievances are addressed.

Also read: After Centre, CJP confronts BJP-ruled states, warns Bihar, Bengal over protesters' arrests

Senior journalist Amarnath Tewary discussed the Bihar episode. Tewary said the officer who allegedly used AK-47 had been suspended and that a departmental inquiry was underway, with authorities examining who had authorised use of the weapon. He said three protesters were injured and admitted to a private hospital in Patna, and stated that deploying such a weapon against student protesters was not legally permissible.

Tewary also said around 23 FIRs had been filed against more than 400 students in connection with the Bihar protests, with many sent to judicial custody; some minors were granted bail while other students remained detained.

Will Amit Shah answer?

Senior journalist and political commentator TK Rajalakshmi countered that the real issue was not the absence of guidelines but whether existing ones were being followed, and suggested political decision-making may have shaped how the protests were handled on the ground.

Also read: How CJP protest spread to UK, USA, Europe, got Indian diaspora's support

Rajalakshmi argued that accountability should not be confined to departmental inquiries against individual personnel, calling for a wider probe into the events of July 20 and other alleged instances of police excess.

She said Union Home Minister Amit Shah owed the public some explanation given the continuing controversy.

Sood echoed the call for broader political accountability, even as he maintained that immediate operational responsibility rests with officers on the ground, and said governments should prioritise dialogue before situations are allowed to escalate.