Of the nearly 250 tear gas shells lobbed at protesters on Sunday, many were found to have expired, while others did not have expiry dates mentioned on them. Police denied the charge even though people present on the scene clicked photographs of such shells.
“There were many shells which had expired three years ago. Others had no expiry date written on them,” said Prakash Kumar Ray, a PhD student at JNU.
“The tear gas shells that we are using have an expiry date of January 2013,” said Rajan Bhagat, public relations officer of the Delhi Police. “These are not antibiotics which can harm if taken after expiry date. These shells become less intensive in releasing gas,” said Bhagat.
However, activists who have dealt with such shells have a different view.
“Using expired tear gas shells is prohibited under the law. During protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant such shells were used,” said Kumar Sundaram, an activist.
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