Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi staged a dharna outside the Parliament Street police station in New Delhi on Friday, August 21, demanding registration of an FIR over the alleged use of pellet guns against student protesters in the capital. The protest continued for nearly seven hours and ended after Delhi Police registered a case over the injuries suffered by 19-year-old student protester Sahil Lochab.
Rahul was accompanied by Sahil and his mother when he arrived at the police station after first approaching the Mandir Marg police station and later meeting senior police officials at the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Connaught Place. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also joined the protest, along with senior party leaders including Jairam Ramesh, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Kumari Selja.
Sahil had approached the Delhi Police with a complaint alleging that pellets injured him during the student protest at Jantar Mantar on July 20. The protest was part of a Parliament march organised by the Cockroach Janta Party, with students demanding, among other things, the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities and paper leaks related to NEET.
Congress said Sahil and his lawyers had submitted a written complaint to the police on August 14, but were not given an investigating officer's number or an acknowledgement. The complaint was followed up via email and phone calls on August 17, but the party alleged that the police still had not provided details of the investigating officer or registered an FIR.
According to Sahil's lawyer, they were sent between the Connaught Place and Parliament Street police stations while trying to submit the complaint, each telling them the case fell under the other's jurisdiction. The lawyer alleged that the complaint was returned after it was read, and that the station house officer later told him there were "orders from above" not to take up the case.
Rahul said he would remain at the police station until the complaint was registered. "I will sit on dharna outside the police station for 30 days or even six months if you don't register an FIR," he had warned.
Speaking to reporters during the protest, Rahul displayed a small box containing pellets and alleged that more than 200 pellets were lodged in Sahil's body. He said medical reports from AIIMS and Lady Hardinge Medical College recorded the presence of the pellets.
"There are more than 200 pellets in his body. There are three pellets in his eye, and he has lost vision in that eye. There are also pellets lodged very close to his heart," Rahul said.
He also questioned the Delhi Police's denial that its personnel had fired pellet guns during the protest. "If you did not fire them, then someone must have fired these pellets," he said.
After the FIR was filed, Rahul called it only the first step towards justice. "For almost a month, he has been calling for the registration of an FIR and moving from one police station to another. One can imagine what the people of the country suffer when they seek justice," he said.
Rahul alleged that the FIR was registered only after clearance from senior authorities in the Union Home Ministry, which oversees the Delhi Police. “The final FIR has been registered after an okay from the Home Secretary and (Home Minister) Amit Shah; then you can imagine who was stopping the registration of an FIR as these cops wanted to do so but were not allowed to do so," he said.
The FIR was registered against unknown persons under Section 118(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, relating to voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous weapons or means, along with provisions concerning rash or negligent acts that endanger human life. The case has been assigned to an investigating officer at Parliament Street police station.
According to the complaint, Sahil was caught in a stampede-like situation during the July 20 protest when he felt something strike the right side of his body, including his chest, arm and eye, and then saw a person in a blue uniform carrying a large gun.
"I suddenly felt as if something had struck my chest, my arm, and my eye. When I turned around, I saw a person in a blue uniform, holding a large gun," the complaint stated.
Sahil was initially admitted to Lady Hardinge Hospital before being referred to AIIMS, where he underwent surgery, though his vision remained unclear. "I underwent surgery, but the vision in my eye is still not clear," he said. The complaint states doctors recorded the eye injury as caused by a pellet, that his chances of recovering vision were less than 1%, and that some pellets could remain lodged in his eye permanently.
Sahil called the registration of the FIR a victory for justice, though he said the hours it took, even with the Leader of Opposition present, showed the difficulties ordinary citizens face when approaching the police. "You have to keep the faith, you can't be silenced as long as Jannayaks like him are there in the country," he said.
His mother, Jyoti, also questioned the police's denial that pellet guns had been fired. "They say that no gun was fired. If not, then how did the pellets hit my son?" she asked.
The Delhi Police has denied using pellet guns against the student protesters. However, pellet guns are part of the equipment used by the Rapid Action Force, the riot control wing of the Central Reserve Police Force, which was deployed at Jantar Mantar during the protest. The CRPF has not publicly clarified whether pellet guns were used during the Delhi demonstration.
Pellet guns fire cartridges containing numerous small metal or rubber pellets that disperse over a wide area, and can cause serious injuries, particularly when fired at close range or towards the upper body. Standard operating procedure states that such weapons should be fired from a minimum distance of 500 feet and aimed below the waist. A report cited said the CRPF had found that an RAF personnel fired seven rounds during the incident, with five hitting protesters.
The July protest also became a political issue in Parliament, with Rahul demanding to know who authorised the use of pellet guns against students, and accusing Union Home Minister Amit Shah of being responsible for the use of excessive force. In a letter to Shah, Rahul had demanded accountability for what he called a "barbaric assault" on students who were peacefully protesting.
The Delhi Police, meanwhile, cited the Supreme Court's constitution of a High-Powered Expert Committee to examine allegations of excessive and disproportionate use of force during the student protests, and said cases relating to the July 20 demonstration had been transferred to the Crime Branch. Rahul rejected the argument that the existence of the committee was a reason not to register an FIR, maintaining that a cognisable offence had been alleged.
While sitting outside the police station, Rahul said refusing to register an FIR amounted to undermining constitutional protections. "This is a police station right in the heart of New Delhi, and justice is not being delivered here. Now imagine what happens at a police station in a village or a small town," he said.
The BJP criticised Rahul's protest and accused him of using the incident for political purposes. Union Minister and Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha JP Nadda described the protest as "cheap, attention-seeking politics," alleging it was neither about students nor justice but an attempt to divert attention from criticism of the Congress over the Vande Mataram controversy.
"It is a symbol of the Congress party's political desperation and Rahul Gandhi's hunger for media attention," Nadda said, adding that a senior Congress leader had been seen cutting a cake designed to look like the Tricolour. "To conceal this anti-national face of his, Rahul Gandhi has hastily orchestrated this new drama as a distraction," he added.