After 7-hour Rahul dharna, Delhi Police register FIR over pellet injuries to youth during CJP-led protest

After more than seven hours of high drama outside the Parliament Street police station, with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi refusing to leave until an FIR was registered over pellet-gun injuries suffered by 19-year-old student Sahil Lochab during a Cockroach Janta Party-led protest, the Delhi Police finally registered a case on Friday evening.

Related news: Rahul Gandhi sits on dharna outside DCP office over FIR for ‘pellet-hit’ student

The FIR was registered under Section 118(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which deals with voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means.

Gandhi, who arrived with Lochab, his mother and their lawyer around 11.30 am, remained at the police station until evening after talks with senior police officers failed to break the deadlock. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra later joined him and held multiple rounds of discussions with Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Sachin Sharma before the FIR was registered.

The dramatic face-off ended shortly before 7 pm when Lochab and his mother emerged from the DCP’s office carrying a copy of the FIR.

“Today, with the support of Rahul Gandhi, we were able to get the FIR registered. It has been a month since the incident. Sahil has pellets in his body and injuries in his eyes also. The police have taken so long to get even the FIR registered,” Lochab’s mother said.

Lochab and his mother said they had been approaching the police since August 14. Referring to what they claimed was the eventual clearance from the Union Home Ministry, they alleged that the delay had now raised questions over who had prevented registration of the case earlier.

Gandhi called the FIR merely the “first step towards justice” and questioned why it required his intervention and hours of protest for a citizen’s complaint to be registered.

“A month has passed. There are pellets in his body, three pellets in his eye and he cannot see from that eye. Three-four pellets are near his heart,” Gandhi said after the FIR was registered.

Pointing to the hours spent at the police station, Gandhi said they had arrived around 11.30 am and the case was registered only in the evening.

“If this is what happens at a police station in the heart of New Delhi, imagine what happens in a police station in a village or a small town,” he said, linking Lochab’s case to the larger question of access to justice for ordinary citizens.

Gandhi alleged that the police officers themselves were willing to register the case but were being prevented from doing so “from above”. He further claimed that the “final permission” had to come from Union Home Secretary and Home Minister Amit Shah before the FIR could be registered.

“You can understand who was stopping the FIR,” Gandhi said.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi first accompanied Lochab to the Mandir Marg police station seeking registration of the FIR. After the demand was not accepted there, he reached Parliament Street police station and met DCP Sharma. When the meeting failed to produce a breakthrough, Gandhi sat on a dharna with Lochab and his family outside the police station, which also houses the DCP office.

Congress workers gathered outside, raised slogans amid heavy police presence.

The Delhi Police maintained that matters connected with the July 20 protest were already being examined. The DCP said a related matter was before the Supreme Court and the Crime Branch was looking into cases arising from the July 20 protest.

Lochab has alleged that he was struck by pellets near Connaught Place during the student protest on July 20. He was initially taken to Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital and later referred to AIIMS, where he underwent two surgeries.

According to Gandhi, more than 200 pellets entered Lochab’s body, including three in his eye, while some remained lodged close to his heart. Gandhi also displayed the student’s medical records and a pellet which he said had been removed during treatment.

Lochab said his vision remained impaired despite the surgeries. He had submitted a seven-page complaint to the police on August 14 seeking an FIR.

Congress leaders said registration of the FIR was necessary to determine who fired the pellets, under whose orders force was used and whether such use of force against protesting students was lawful.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also targeted the Centre over the episode, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of avoiding accountability for the July 20 police action.

“Those shedding crocodile tears over nationalism are, in reality, the biggest enemies of the country’s youth,” Kharge said in a post on X.

Kharge questioned why Shah had not explained who ordered the use of pellet guns against students and why Lochab and his mother had to repeatedly approach the police merely to get an FIR registered.

“What exactly is Amit Shah hiding?” Kharge asked.