FIR Filed In Pellet Gun Case After Rahul Gandhi's Sit-In At Police Station

It's official. The Delhi Police has registered an FIR in the case of a 19-year-old student protester who suffered pellet-gun injuries during the July 20 march on Parliament as Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by the victim, Sahil Lochab, staged a sit-in outside a Delhi police station, refusing to budge until an FIR is filed in the case.

"I will sit on dharna outside police station for 30 days or even six months if you don't register an FIR," Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha who sat on a day-long dharna, had warned the cops.

The police have collected the medical report and other related documents and the FIR has been filed against unknown persons based on the complaint given by the victim, police said.

"This is the first step towards justice. An FIR has been registered. Look at how long it took. It has been a month since the pellets were fired. There are pellets lodged in his (Sahil Lochab's) body, three in his eye. It is clear that injustice has been done to a young person," the Congress leader said. 

VIDEO | Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi says, "This is the first step towards justice. An FIR has been registered. Look at how long it took. It has been a month since the pellets were fired. There are pellets lodged in his (Sahil Lochav) body, three in his eye, because of which he… pic.twitter.com/JLZ29yMzfe

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 21, 2026

Gandhi noted that they arrived at 11:30 in the morning and that the FIR was registered after nearly seven hours.

"We came here at around 11:30 this morning. He has been going around for a month, and we arrived at around 11:30. Now it is 6:30, almost 7 pm, and only then has the FIR been registered... This is a police station right in the heart of New Delhi, and justice is not being delivered here. Now imagine what happens at a police station in a village or a small town. We have done nothing wrong here. We have only sought justice for an Indian citizen, for his mother and for his father," he said. 

Rahul Gandhi seen shaking hands with Sahil Lochab after cops filed an FIR in his case

Turning to the victim's mother, who also sat on the protest, Rahul Gandhi asked her,"Are you happy now?" 

Rahul Gandhi showing the FIR copy to pellet-gun victim Sahil Lochab's mother

"I had faith that if the LoP is here, they will have to file the complaint. You have to keep the faith, you can't be silenced as long as Jannayak like him are there in the country," Sahil, addressing reporters, said. 

The Delhi Police had earlier 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 as it refused to file the FIR.

While on 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".

Rahul Gandhi, along with pellet gun victim Sahil Lochab and his mother, protesting at Palriament Street Police Station

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.

As the sit-in dragged on for several hours, a waiting Rahul Gandhi, along with the victim, stepped in front of a swarm of cameras and microphones and held up a small plastic box.

Rahul Gandhi, along with the pellet-gun victim, showing the medical reports detailing the injuries of the student protester

Opening the box, he 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. 

Speaking to reporters, Lochab said that the alleged incident took place on July 20.

"On July 20, pellet guns were fired at me. I was admitted to Lady Hardinge, and from there, I was referred to AIIMS. I underwent surgery at AIIMS, but the vision in my eye is still not clear. On August 14, I wrote a seven-page complaint and gave it to my lawyer, but the FIR has not been registered," he said.

His lawyer alleged that they were sent back and forth between Connaught Place Police Station and Parliament Street Police Station while trying to submit the complaint.

"On August 14, we went to the police station in Connaught Place. They told us that all Jantar Mantar cases had been transferred to Parliament Street Police Station. We came here, but they told us that the place of the incident falls under the Connaught Place area and that we should go there. We went back to them," the lawyer said.

According to the lawyer, the police returned the complaint after reading it and made them wait for a long time.

"The SHO spoke to me personally on the phone and told me that they would not take up the case and that they had received orders from above," the lawyer alleged.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding accountability for the "barbaric assault" on peacefully protesting students and asked whether he approved the use of "lethal force", including pellet guns, against the youth.

In July, Rahul Gandhi led a Congress protest against paper leaks and the "attack" on students to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, only to be dragged away hours later. He sat on the road and refused to budge.

He was eventually dragged away and was seen bleeding from his nose.