On 20 July, the Delhi capital erupted into violence as tens of thousands of students, journalists and activists gathered near Parliament to demand reforms in education and demand the resignation of the education minister. Police and paramilitary forces met the crowd with wooden sticks, batons and tear gas.
Less than a week later, independent forensic experts confirmed, through medical records and photographs, that at least four protestors were injured by pellet guns—a type of shotgun that fires 200‑400 small lead pellets. The defendants’ wounds are characterised by dozens of tiny, round punctures that are unmistakable signatures of birdshot.
The most affected protestor, a 19‑year‑old Delhi University student named Sahil Lochab, recently appeared in a press conference with Rahul Gandhi. The left half of Lochab’s face, as well as the back of his right arm, show dozens of wounds, each a small hole indicating pellet impact.
A 28‑year‑old journalist, whose identity has not been disclosed, provided the BBC with X‑ray images depicting 26 pellet wounds on his right elbow and four on his upper right back. The images show how the pellets lodged themselves just beneath the skin, proving the injuries are not superficial but require careful medical attention.
Another victim, Shaikh Irshad Mansoori, walked between Connaught Place and the protest’s main site when an RAF soldier fired a pellet shot that lodged more than 40 pellets in his body, some embedded in the neck and eye region. Surgeons removed seven of the foreign bodies, but left one in the neck as removal was too risky.
Officials have so far denied the use of pellet guns, with Delhi Police and the CRPF claiming they possess only tear gas. But an element of the protest was a dispute over allegations of the pellet usage, and the case remains unverified. A senior government minister, Jitendra Singh, dismissed any mention of bullets and insisted only tear gas was used.
If the newspaper reports and forensic evidence are accurate, Delhi would mark the first instance of pellet gun usage in India’s capital against its own citizens, raising critical concerns about civil liberties and police tactics. The incident has intensified calls for a deeper investigation and stronger accountability mechanisms within the security forces.
