New Delhi: Following an intense, six-hour sit-in protest by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi at the Parliament Street police station, the Delhi Police on Friday registered a First Information Report (FIR) regarding the severe pellet gun injuries suffered by a 19-year-old student protester.
The victim, Sahil Lochab, a student at Delhi University’s School of Open Learning, sustained grievous injuries during the July 20 ‘Sansad Chalo’ march at Jantar Mantar. The protest, organised against alleged irregularities in competitive exams like NEET, witnessed a chaotic police crackdown. According to Lochab’s complaint, he was struck by multiple metallic pellets, resulting in the loss of vision in his right eye and leaving over 200 pellets permanently lodged in his body, including some precariously close to his heart.
Despite submitting a formal complaint on August 14, Lochab was allegedly turned away by the police. Taking up the student’s cause, Rahul Gandhi arrived at the police station on Friday. When authorities hesitated, Gandhi staged a dharna (sit-in) outside the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) office, vowing not to leave until a case was registered. He was soon joined by senior Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jairam Ramesh.
Displaying the metallic pellets surgically removed from the teenager, Gandhi addressed the media outside the station. “Three pellets were lodged in his eye, and 200 in his body. Delhi Police say they did not fire pellet guns. So there is only one question: if you did not fire them, then who did?” Gandhi asked.
Following the high-stakes political standoff, the Delhi Police finally capitulated and registered an FIR under Sections 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous weapons) and 125 (rash or negligent act endangering human life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The Delhi Police Crime Branch is expected to take over the investigation.
Calling the FIR the “first step towards justice,” Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “The final approval—the ultimate ‘okay’—had to come from the Home Secretary and Amit Shah himself. Only then was the FIR finally issued,” he claimed, questioning the accessibility of justice when an ordinary citizen struggles to register a basic FIR in the heart of the national capital.
Lochab, who underwent major surgery at AIIMS, remains in a guarded condition. His family has demanded a judicial inquiry and compensation, noting that the teenager’s lifelong dream of joining a uniformed police force has been tragically shattered.