- Delhi Police has denied using pellet guns on July 20 Jantar Mantar protesters
- Safdarjung Hospital confirmed pellet wounds on a 28-year-old man during the NEET paper leak agitation
- Rapid Action Force, equipped with pellet guns, was present at the protest site; CRPF has not commented
While Delhi Police has denied the use of pellet guns against student demonstrators during the July 20 Jantar Mantar protest, a government hospital has confirmed that a 28-year-old, who was marching with the protesters on the day, endured "pellet wounds" on his right elbow and back.
The march was part of the ongoing agitation for the demand of the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over the NEET paper leak. The Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, spearheading the protests, accused the Delhi Police of using excessive force against protesters to prevent them from reaching Parliament.
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The patient's case sheet at Safdarjung Hospital details his injuries: "darkened skin around wounds, pellet shards stuck to skin and tenderness on impact sites".
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"Reports claiming that police forces are using pellet guns against peaceful protesters are completely false and misleading," the police had said, dismissing the charge.
🚨 FACT CHECK 🚨Claims stating that Delhi Police forces used pellet guns against peaceful protesters yesterday are completely false and misleading.Delhi Police neither possess pellet guns nor do they use them in the ongoing protest.The public is requested not to share or…
— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) July 22, 2026
The man, who did not wish to be named, was brought to the hospital at 4pm on July 20.
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.
Pellet guns were first used in Kashmir to curb the violence that erupted in 2010 but were discontinued by the then state government. In July 2016, they were used again when protesters went on a rampage following the death of banned Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit's poster boy Burhan Wani.
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.
In a video message late on Thursday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a bill containing provisions for strong action against paper leaks would be introduced in Parliament next week.
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.
In an editorial Opinion written in 'The Hindu', Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi said that the Central government has met peaceful student protests with "cowardice and wanton cruelty," and has treated the country's youth "as enemies of the nation" rather than "as inheritors of the future."
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Sonia Gandhi urged the Centre to halt the police crackdown, stating that "these are our sons and daughters, our young men and women".
The piece singles out the July 20 Parliament march as "a day of infamy" when Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces allegedly used lathicharges and tear gas against protesters, injuring many, including some heading home.
Responding to a question over the police action against protesters during the July 20 march to Parliament, the CJP said: "Maybe this was the first time in a democracy's recent history that the police unleashed such brutality (on the agitators). They had directly aimed to beat on the heads of students, their skulls were cracked open, and legs fractured."
Moreover, the CJP claimed: "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 excessive force against students during the march. The student body alleged that police used pellet guns against protesters, claiming that at least three people sustained pellet injuries.
The organisation further alleged that tear gas shells were fired at dense crowds and at the designated protest site at Jantar Mantar, triggering panic. It further alleged that men in uniform carrying sticks assaulted protesters alongside police personnel, that some police personnel were without name tags, and that health workers attempting to assist injured students were prevented from doing so.
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.
Other Cases
Sahil Lochab was allegedly hit by a pellet gun in his right eye during the CJP protest in Delhi on June 20. The teen from Najafgarh was among the 60 protesters injured, according to Delhi Police estimates.
He has undergone one surgery to repair the injured eye and remove pellets and is awaiting another. He was first taken to Lady Hardinge Medical College and later to Safdarjung Hospital before being shifted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre on July 21.
The teenager has multiple pellet injuries to his face, neck, chest, right shoulder and arm, news agency PTI reported. A pellet was lodged in his right eye, causing corneal perforation - a full-thickness hole in the cornea, while another was found in his right lung and pericardial fat - a tissue surrounding the heart, the news agency reported quoting an unnamed source.
Sahil is not the only protester to suffer serious injuries during the demonstrations.
With him is Sheikh Mansoori, 25, a Gurugram resident who has allegedly suffered seven pellet injuries to his face, including to his nose, forehead, both eyes and cheeks. He was taken to Lady Hardinge Medical College, where he underwent surgery and is likely to require another procedure.
