At least a dozen personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) were issued pellet guns on the morning of July 20 to handle student protesters in Delhi but the controversial weapons were withdrawn starting July 23 after allegations that they were used against agitators, officials aware of RAF’s internal inquiry said on Monday.CRPF headquarters is yet to receive the report from the Inspector General (IG) of RAF, Seema Dhundia. (Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times)HT has reported that five people – Sheikh Irshad Mansuri, a 25-year-old employee with a private firm, Nootan Toppo, a 32-year-old woman from Gurugram, a 28-year-old reporter, Prashant Singh, a 25-year-old Bihar resident, and 19-year-old Sahil Lochab, a student aspiring to join the police force – have alleged (in Lochab’s case the allegations were made by the family) that they were hit with pellets on July 20.Also Read | ‘I couldn’t feel my arm’: Hospital record notes 25-year-old protester’s ‘pellet’ injuriesRAF is a specialised unit within the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed to handle riots and other public disturbances across the country.The internal inquiry also quoted a CRPF inspector – leading one RAF team in the Outer Circle of Connaught Place near Pallika Bazar on July 20 – as saying that he didn’t issue any order to fire the pellet guns, the officials cited above added.“It is possible more than one officer fired the pellet gun that afternoon. The personnel in the RAF inspector’s team have been identified. The post assessment report submitted to headquarters will name the officer to whom the pump action guns were issued along with the specific number of cartridges containing pellets. There are also many deviations, including personnel not firing below the waist,” an official aware of the matter said.“But one thing is for sure that no pellet guns were issued on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday after the controversy. It won’t be issued for any future protests by students unless the other group is armed,” the official added.Also Read | Who is Sonia Sehrawat? RAF officer at centre of CJP protest controversyBetween 1 pm and 5 pm on July 20, the RAF team under probe was posted near the Grand Charkha installation above Pallika Bazar on the road leading to Jantar Mantar from the Connaught Place Circle.“We have heard that in the RAF’s internal inquiry, the personnel said that the pellet gun was fired when a Delhi Police team was hit by stones and people in the crowd pelted stones at the police and RAF personnel. The RAF team also told their seniors they had to escalate their response because Parliament was in session and protesters were set to march towards the Parliament Complex,” a second officer added.CRPF headquarters is yet to receive the report from the Inspector General (IG) of RAF, Seema Dhundia.The officials cited above said that last Thursday and Friday, Dhundhia held two separate meetings – one with her officers within RAF and another with the CRPF top brass.Also Read | 'Kha lijiye sir': CJP protesters offer pizza to RAF personnel at Jantar Mantar, win praiseThe IG’s review meetings found many deviations by the CRPF personnel from standard operating protocol, prompting all CRPF and RAF personnel to attach their name tags to their uniforms from Friday. “During the review meeting, the team also found that many personnel were giving interviews on the ground or posting on their social media accounts. This is against service rules,” the second official said.Although the use of pellet guns -- categorised as a non-lethal deterrent along with tear gas, rubber bullets and smoke grenades -- is included in RAF’s manual for crowd control, their use on student protesters has raked up a controversy, including in Parliament, and was termed inappropriate by the Opposition, students and police experts.It was also the first time that pellets in pump action guns(PAGs) were used in Delhi. It has earlier been used in Jammu and Kashmir to handle violent agitations and stone pelting. During the 2021 farmers’ agitation, police and CRPF used plastic bullets.After the protests were called off on Saturday, CRPF chief GP Singh said, “Now, since agitation has been called off, and once assembled people disperse, we would make a professional post-event assessment, like we do after every major assignment, and then let you know the view of the Force HQ.”