NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi, who has been demanding to know who gave the order to fire pellet guns on the students, on Friday walked into a police station at Parliament Street with a pellet gun victim and refused to leave until an FIR is registered in the case.
As the cops refused to file an FIR, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, along with the pellet gun victim, Sahil Lochab, then sat on a dharna outside the police station.
The Delhi Police informed the protesting Congress leader that the Supreme Court has constituted a High-Powered Expert Committee (HPEC) to examine allegations of excessive and disproportionate use of force by the police, paramilitary forces during the student protests.
Gandhi, though, refused to budge until an FIR in the case is registered.
“We stand for students. We stand for justice. We will not be silent. Dharna at DCP office till FIR is filed,” the Congress posted on X as Rahul Gandhi, along with the victim and his mother, sat on a chair outside the police station. Soon, Priyanka Gandhi too joined the protest and took her seat next to them.
While on a dharna, Rahul Gandhi posted on X that “on July 20 the police attacked Sahil, who was peacefully protesting at Jantar Mantar, with a pellet gun”. As a result, Gandhi said, Sahil’s “vision in one eye is now at risk”.
The Delhi police has denied the use of pellet guns – which can spray dozens of small metal pellets, or birdshot, at a time, and can cause severe injuries – on student protesters.
Pellet guns, which were first used in 2010 against protesters in Kashmir, and shock batons are part of the gear of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), the riot-control wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which was deployed at Jantar Mantar, the protest site. The CRPF is silent on its use during the Delhi protests.
A pellet gun fires cartridges loaded with up to 600 metal or rubber pellets, which disperse in a widespread manner at speeds of 1,000 feet per second. The SOP is that the gun should be fired from a minimum distance of 500 feet. The muzzle of the gun should always be targeted below the waist.
Gandhi, along with the victim, stepped in front of a swarm of cameras and microphones and held up a small pastic box, with a blue cap.
He then opened the box and spilled the contents onto his palm and showed them to the reporters.
“Ye hai pellets, dekh lijiye inko, achhi tarah se dekh lijiye, ye hain pellets (These are pellets; take a look at them – look at them closely – these are pellets),” Gandhi said.
Where did they (pellets) come from? the Congress leader asked and then answered it himself.
“Ye inke shareer se aaye (These came from his body),” Gandhi said, urging the student to show the injuries.
The Student, who was wearing dark glasses, then rolled up his T-shirt sleeve and showed the injuries.
“Ye inke yahan lage hain charre. 200 charre inke shareer ke andar hain aur teen charre inki aankh main hai (These pellets are lodged in his body. There are 200 pellets inside him and three are lodged in his eye),” Gandhi said.
He then flashed reports from Lady Hardinge Medical College and AIIMS, saying they detail that there are more than 200 pellets lodged in Sahil Lochab’s body.
“If police did not fire these pellets, then somebody must have fired them, maybe he fired it upon himself, but a crime has happened. We are simply asking for an FIR to be registered. Here are his mother and father; please file an FIR. We are merely seeking justice for this family,” Gandhi said.
