Meet The Amateur Pellet Doctors Of Srinagar Who Treat Protestors Too Scared To Go To Hospital scroll.in

Their surgical tools include blades, Dettol-soaked cottonwool, and cycle spokes. Ahmad, who lives in Srinagar’s Anchar locality, talks about pellet injuries with the air of an experienced surgeon.

“When pellets enter your body, you feel like everything inside you is burning,” said the 23-year-old, who did not want to reveal his full name. “The pellets are very hot when they are fired. They are very dangerous if they hit a person in the eyes or if they hit your body from a short distance. But if they hit your back or legs from a long distance, you can manage with basic first aid. Ahmad is not a doctor, not even a medical student. He studies commerce. But over the past few weeks, he has emerged as one of the many pellet experts in Anchar. Metal pellets, fired from shotguns, are commonly used by security forces to quell civilian protests in Kashmir.

Anchor, part of the larger Soura area in Srinagar, has been a hub of protest since August 5. That was when the Centre scrapped special status for Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, split the state into two Union Territories and removed Article 35A, which empowered the state government to define “state subjects” and grant them specific rights.