- A protester suffered 30 pellet gun wounds during July 20 protest in Delhi
- Government hospital confirmed pellet injuries on the protester's body
- Delhi Police denied using pellet guns, claiming they do not possess them
There were 30 pellet gun wound marks on his body, the 28-year-old protester told NDTV he counted. The government hospital has confirmed pellet injuries, tiny red perforations, on his body.
The man was injured during a protest march on July 20, called by the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak.
Thousands gathered Monday at Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site in Central Delhi, at the CJP's call to march to Parliamnent to press for their demands.
This man was one among the thousands.
His case sheet at Safdarjung Hospital details his injuries: "darkened skin around wounds, pellet shards stuck to skin and tenderness on impact sites".
Read | "Pellet Shards Stuck To Skin": Hospital Report Contradicts Delhi Police Claim
The police, claim protesting students, baton-charged, teargassed and used pellet guns on the students.
The Delhi Police has denied using pellet guns during the protests.
"Delhi Police neither possess pellet guns nor do they use them in the ongoing protest. The public is requested not to share or circulate any unverified or misleading information," the city police posted on X amid reports that pellet guns were used on protesting students.
The injured protester has countered the claim, though he is not sure if it was the city police or the the Rapid Action Force, whihc was also deployed at the protest site.
"At first, they were firing tear gas vertically, meaning in the air. But then they started firing it horizontally, aiming directly at the protesters. It hit one person above his eye, blood was gushing out. And they started firing pellet gun too. I saw a policeman pointing his pellet gun at me. I ran and the pellets got stuck in my back and hand. If I had not been aware, it would have hit me in the front," the victim told NDTV.
The victim said protests were happening and some said police fired tear gas first but police is saying the opposite.
"I am not sure if it was an RAF personnel or police officer because they were mixed and it happened so quickly, but what I remember is a gun being pointed in my direction. That's why I ran in the opposite direction when it all happened," he said.
Pellet guns and shock batons are part of the gear of the Rapid Action Force, or RAF, the anti-riot unit under Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which was stationed at the Jantar Mantra protest site alongside Delhi Police on Monday. The CRPF is silent on the use of pellet guns.
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.
On Friday morning, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said PM Modi should first apologise to the students and take action against those "who ordered the use of pellet guns" against them.
"Before coming to Parliament today, please dismiss Dharmendra Pradhan. First, apologise to the students and take strict action against those who ordered the use of batons and pellet guns to suppress the students' voices. Then we are ready for a detailed discussion on the education system," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.
The CJP has claimed that "the police even used pellet guns and some people have lost vision".
The All India Students' Association (AISA) on Tuesday alleged that Delhi Police used pellet guns against protesters, claiming that at least three people sustained pellet injuries.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Centre and the city police on two pleas alleging excessive use of force against protesters during the July 20 march to Parliament.
