Assam CM Tarun Gogoi calls for non-lethal measures of crowd control

Advocating police not to resort to firing while controlling mob violence, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has said security personnel should adopt non-lethal measures such as tear gas and water cannons to avert deaths while dealing with public agitation.

"We need to visit standard operating procedures and crowd control measures to deal with public agitation and with non-lethal, yet effective and focused measures...," Gogoi said at a law and order review meeting yesterday with senior civil and police officers here.

Gogoi said the police personnel must tackle violent mob protests effectively without using excessive force.

"Use of tear gas, water cannons and non-lethal measures must be enforced to bring mob violence under control. Firing should be avoided as far as practicable," he said in view of firing incidents in recent times.

In the course of the meeting, the Chief Minister asked Chief Secretary Jitesh Khosla to draw up a comprehensive action plan for border area development focusing on economy, social affairs, education, health and transport.

Expressing his concern over sharp increase in the number of road accidents resulting in loss of lives, Gogoi instructed Khosla to draw up another action plan encompassing specific road safety measures to curb the increasing number of road accidents in the state.

The Chief Minister also called for stern action against those police personnel found driving in inebriated conditions.