A file picture of a policeman hurling a stone at the rally

Siliguri, April 21: Darjeeling district police authorities will send a team of 20 selected officials to Calcutta for training in the use of “non-lethal ammunition” while controlling and dispersing a mob.

The decision comes in the backdrop of the April 9 incident at Darjeeling More. Policemen posted had used batons and stones to control a rally of ex-servicemen affiliated to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

“Police are not supposed to use stones as their weapon, contrary to what was done on that day. We are trying to make them aware of how to control the mob without using lethal weapons,” said Darjeeling police chief Rahul Srivastava.

The training will be held at Barrackpore Police Training Centre (BPTC) in Calcutta. Although the date and tenure of the training have not yet been finalised, senior officials here said the short-listed officers from the district would be sent next month. The trained officials will return and teach the others.

The idea for the training cropped up after a workshop on the subject held at the Mallaguri police line here yesterday. Vivek Sahay, the inspector-general of training at BPTC, conducted the daylong meet attended by about 40 officials from different police stations in town.

“The workshop discussed how to disperse a mob without using any lethal ammunition and I think this will be useful for us in future,” said an official of the Siliguri police, who was also present at Darjeeling More on April 9.

The district police authorities were trying to identify through video footages the personnel who had thrown stones at the former soldiers.

To avoid the use of lethal weapon in future, the police now lay stress on lighter measures to tackle a similar situation.

“The main objective of the workshop is to make the personnel aware of the use of tear gas and rubber bullets which are non-lethal but useful for dispersing a mob,” said Rajesh Yadav, the additional superintendent of police, Siliguri.