- Rahul Gandhi is staging a dharna outside a senior cop's office at Parliament Street
- He is protesting against police refusal to file an FIR for a pellet gun victim from student protests
- Delhi Police cited a Supreme Court committee reviewing use of force during protests
Rahul Gandhi, who has been demanding to know who gave the order to fire pellet guns on the students, today walked into a police station at Parliament Street with a pellet gun victim and refused to leave until an FIR is registered in the case.
As the cops refused to file an FIR, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, along with the pellet gun victim, Sahil Lochab, then sat on a dharna outside the police station.
The Delhi Police 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.
Gandhi, though, refused to budge until an FIR in the case is registered.
"We stand for students. We stand for justice. We will not be silent. Dharna at DCP office till FIR is filed," the Congress posted on X as Rahul Gandhi, along with the victim and his mother, sat on a chair outside the police station.
While on a 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".
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.
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, Gandhi presented before the media Sachil Lochab, the 19-year-old, who was allegedly shot with a pellet gun by security personnel during the march on Parliament on July 20, the first day of the Monsoon Session. The march was part of the Cockraoch Janta Party-led student agitation for the demand of the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over the NEET paper leak.
"You are saying that protesters have been hit by pellet guns. I want to explain when pellet guns were fired. My brother was struck by a pellet gun when he was peacefully protesting with a tricolour in hand," Gandhi told reporters with Sahil Lochab by his side.
Gandhi also lifted the 19-year-old's T-shirt to show his injuries to the media.
The same month, 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.
