The recent Lethpora village encounter of Pulwama District in Jammu and Kashmir where three Jaish-e-Mohammed Fidayeen members who stormed the CRPF camp with Kalashnikovs and grenades fired steel-core bullets, which is a new trend in the three decade-old terrorism in the State. It could be alarming because of its lethality. The use of armour-piercing rounds by terrorists could be a major security nightmare as several VIPs use bulletproof vehicles. In 2015, the Obama administration scrapped a ban on armour-piercing bullets in the face of fierce opposition by gun owners, lobbyists and members of the Congress. The green tip bullets can easily pierce the light body armour used by the American police. The Law Enforcement Officer Protection Act, 1986, makes the import, distribution and manufacture of armour-piercing ammunition illegal unless primarily intended for sporting purposes. The overnight encounter that started with the attack on a CRPF centre in Lethpora claimed the lives of four CRPF men. The rounds proved fatal for one CRPF jawan as the bullet pierced his bulletproof shield. The hardened steel penetrator, encased usually in a copper jacket, in such bullets is a pointed mass of high-density material which retains its shape and strikes the target with maximum energy. The CRPF personnel were surprised when the bullets penetrated the heavy metal bunker vehicle, widely used during such encounters. Even during the July 27, 2015 attack three heavily armed terrorists dressed in army uniforms hijacked a Maruti car from the outskirts of Dinanagar in Gurdaspur after opening fire at the occupant of the car. Subsequently, these terrorists opened fire indiscriminately in the area around the bus stand, Dinanagar and also fired at a Punjab Roadways bus coming from Bamial. Subsequently, the terrorists entered Dinanagar Police Station and opened fire on the sentry standing on guard duty. There is no doubt that Pak-supported terrorists have been testing and trying these high caliber lethal bullets to increase casualty rate which could be an alarming trend.
