“When those pellet-like things hit my hand, I thought I was going to lose my arm forever. I could not feel it for hours,” said 25-year-old Prashant Singh, who allegedly suffered pellet-like injuries on July 20 near the Jantar Mantar protest site. A native of Bihar, Singh was rushed to Lady Hardinge Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries. His discharge paper, accessed by HT, reads: “Multiple pellet injuries to the right upper limb, chest and inguinal region.”
HT spoke to Prashant, a former liberal arts student at Ambedkar University, who narrated what happened that day. “I was following the movement on social media from the start and wanted to be part of it. Before July 20, I had also gone to the protest. Similarly, I was there for the July 20 Sansad Chalo march,” he said.
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He added, “At around 4pm, the police started using tear gas to disperse students around Jantar Mantar, in which I was already hit by lathis. Within minutes, I, along with my friend and other protesters, had reached the Palika Bazaar area, where there is a Gandhi Charkha installation. It had almost become an area where many protesters were cornered by police personnel. There was tear gas shelling and firing happening, so I was trying to run away from the area and the epicentre. That is when I was hit by these pellet-like bullets on different parts of my body, and within seconds I felt I could not feel my right arm. My friend then rushed me to Lady Hardinge hospital,” he narrated.
“At the hospital, they treated me and told me I would heal in a few days, and discharged me the same day. When I reached home, my friends saw my wounds and we researched online. We then figured out that these wounds were very similar to pellet wounds,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“At the hospital, they treated me and told me I would heal in a few days, and discharged me the same day. When I reached home, my friends saw my wounds and we researched online. We then figured out that these wounds were very similar to pellet wounds,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“We read articles about firing in some war-torn areas and saw pictures of the wounds and how similar mine were. It was then that I checked my discharge papers from the hospital, where it was also mentioned that these were pellet wounds. That is when I understood what had happened to me.”
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Prashant’s discharge summary (seen by HT) reads that the patient was brought to the hospital at around 4.30pm. The hospital document in the section of “history and examination” reads, “The patient has pellet injuries to the right upper limb, chest and inguinal region with first-degree severity.”
Prashant, who works as an artist assistant at a private firm in Delhi, said, “For days, I did not tell my family back in Bihar that I had these pellet-like wounds because I was worried they would get tense about me.” He said he is recovering, but has not completely healed.
HT earlier reported three other alleged cases of pellet-like injuries involving Sheikh Irshad Mansuri, a 25-year-old employee at a private firm; Sahil Lochab, a student aspiring to join the police force; and a 28-year-old reporter who did not wish to be named. HT also reported that the Delhi police has officially denied using pellet or rubber guns.