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Rahul Gandhi sits on dharna outside Delhi police station over pellet gun row
Rahul Gandhi reached the police station with a student, who was allegedly injured by pellet-gun fire during a protest in Delhi.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday sat on a dharna outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police at Delhi’s Parliament Street Police Station, protesting the alleged refusal by police to register a complaint from a student who allegedly suffered pellet-gun injuries during the Jantar Mantar protest in the national capital last month.
Gandhi reached the police station with the student, who was allegedly injured by pellet-gun fire during the protest. Rahul said the Delhi Police had refused to register the youth’s complaint, prompting him to stage the protest.
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Rahul Gandhi seeks FIR over the row
“Today, I went to the DCP office at Parliament Street to file an FIR against the police brutality faced by Sahil Lochab. On July 20, the police attacked Sahil, who was peacefully protesting at Jantar Mantar, with a pellet gun. Severely injured by the pellets, Sahil's vision in one eye is now at risk,” Gandhi wrote on X.
He added, “Such brutality against a peaceful protest is not just illegal—it's a serious crime. Neither has Home Minister Amit Shah offered any explanation to the students for this cruelty, nor has the Prime Minister apologized to them. Now, when Sahil wants to file an FIR for justice, even that is not being allowed. In this way, the Constitution and constitutional rights are being trampled upon.”
“Amit Shah, why are you so scared of justice? This fear shows that you are admitting to your crime. The FIR will be filed. A judicial inquiry will take place. And action will be taken against everyone—from top to bottom—who is guilty of this brutality. We will ensure justice for Sahil, and every student victim like him,” Gandhi wrote.
There was no immediate reaction from the Delhi Police to the allegations.
What is the case?
Congress alleged that the student, Sahil Lochav, accompanied by his lawyers, submitted a written complaint to the Delhi Police on August 14 but was not given an I/O number. The party said the complaint was pursued again on August 17 through email and phone calls, but no I/O number or acknowledgement was provided.
The party further alleged that Rahul Gandhi accompanied Lochav to the police station on Friday to press for action, but the DCP again did not provide the case officer or I/O number. Congress said the alleged offence is cognisable and therefore requires registration of an FIR, but claimed the Delhi Police had failed to do so.
Pellet guns row
The alleged use of pellet guns during the July 20 CJP protest has become a major point of contention, with the opposition and CJP stepping up pressure on the Delhi Police over its handling of the protests.
While there has been no official confirmation of pellet-gun use against protesters, an entry in the Parliament Street Police Station's daily diary, as reported by Hindustan Times, recorded the use of anti-riot guns and plastic pellets by Rapid Action Force personnel during the protest.
The entry said RAF personnel used two rounds from anti-riot guns and two rounds of plastic pellets while attempting to control the crowd.
The issue has triggered demands for an independent probe into the police response to the protests, particularly allegations that students were injured by pellets and other crowd-control measures.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court constituted a five-member high-powered enquiry committee headed by former judge Justice R Subhash Reddy to examine allegations of police excesses during the protests.
The panel will look into allegations involving pellet guns, electric batons, lathi charges, tear gas and other crowd-control measures.
