‘Suffered 200 pellets, shot 5-6 times': What Jantar Mantar student protester backed by Rahul Gandhi said in FIR

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like A first information report (FIR) has been registered against unknown people following a complaint by 19-year-old Delhi University student Sahil Lochab, who alleged that he was hit by pellets during the July 20 student protests. The FIR was filed after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi joined Lochab and staged a protest outside the Parliament Street Police Station for more than six hours. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, along with Sahil Lochav, who suffered pellet gun injuries during the Jantar Mantar students' protest, at the Parliament Street Police Station to file a complaint. (ANI)The FIR, registered at around 7pm on Friday, names no individuals and was filed under Sections 118 and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Section 118 deals with voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt using dangerous weapons or means, while Section 125 relates to acts that endanger the life or personal safety of others. Also read | Delhi Police file FIR on pellet gun matter after Rahul Gandhi’s dharna over student’s complaint “I joined the Jantar Mantar protest which was against the paper leak... I’m a student and I participated in the protest against the NEET paper leak and Delhi Police recruitment exam cheating. During the afternoon, there was a lathicharge and stampede-like situation. I, along with other youngsters, started running towards the Palika Bazar area. I had the national flag. There, police started lathicharge and threw tear gas shells causing the same stampede-like situation. All of a sudden, I felt something explode on the right side of my face, eye and chest. I turned around and saw a personnel in blue uniform with a big rifle. Because of him, I suffered many pellet injuries. I was shot 5-6 times with pellets. There was blood all over my eye, face, chest and hand. Someone made me sit on a bike and took me to LHMC. They sent me to Safdarjung who then referred me to AIIMS,” Lochab said in the FIR. Also read | FIR for pellet injury during July 20 stir filed after Rahul Gandhi protests for over 6 hours Lochab said he underwent his first eye surgery on July 22. He said doctors recorded the pellet injuries in his medical legal certificate (MLC) and that a CT scan showed around 200 pellets lodged in different parts of his body. “On July 22, I underwent the first surgery for my eye. Doctors mentioned in my MLC about the pellet wounds... during my CT scan, I found I had suffered 200 pellets on my body, including my eye, neck, chest, jaw and hand. The pellets were in my right eye and couldn’t be taken out. They will be in my eye lifelong. Doctors said pellets are also lodged near my heart, and the treatment will go on for a long time,” he said. He also said he underwent a second surgery on his right eye on August 1 and requested that CCTV and drone footage from the area be preserved. “My only fault is that I’m a student and I was standing there peacefully and trying to voice my opinions. Because of this, I’ve lost my eye and my body is now filled with pellet wounds. I worked hard to get into the police force but I’ll never get that job now. I want the police to preserve CCTV and drone footage.” Lochab, a student of Delhi University’s School of Open Learning, said he had spent the previous eight days approaching the Connaught Place, Sansad Marg and Mandir Marg police stations as well as the crime branch office to register an FIR. Also read | Rahul Gandhi sits on dharna outside Delhi police station over pellet gun row “I was then helped by Gandhi …I hoped that if he comes, my case will be heard. I’m the eldest son and these injuries have affected my future career goals and my studies.” He also said he had lost vision in his eye and suffered more than 200 pellet injuries, many of which were in sensitive areas where doctors could not remove them. Before the FIR was registered, Gandhi accompanied Lochab and his mother to the Mandir Marg police station at around 11 am before moving to Connaught Place and later reaching the Parliament Street Police Station to meet deputy commissioner of police Sachin Sharma. After meeting Sharma, Gandhi began a dharna at around 11.30 am and said he would remain there until an FIR was registered. “I will continue to sit here till an FIR is lodged. If a crime has taken place, someone is definitely responsible for it. Why is the police not lodging an FIR? Sahil has been trying to get his complaint filed at police stations for over a week now,” he said. Congress leaders and supporters, including Priyanka Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, gathered outside the police station. By around 12.30 pm, paramilitary forces were deployed, and the police station gate was closed to restrict the entry of protesters. Police also barricaded Tolstoy Marg and Sansad Marg between 12.30 pm and 1 pm as the crowd grew. Meetings continued between 12.30 pm and 6.30 pm involving joint commissioner of police (New Delhi) Nupur Prasad, Sharma, Lochab and Gandhi. The FIR was finally registered at around 6 pm, with the complaint being formally filed at 7 pm, according to the account provided. Jignasa Sinha is a Special Correspondent at Hindustan Times in New Delhi. With more than six years of reporting experience, she covers crime and policing in the national capital. Her beats also include Delhi prisons, the Delhi Fire Services and Delhi courts, while she regularly reports on gender, labour and social justice. Over the course of her career, Jignasa has reported on major criminal investigations, international crime syndicates, high-profile cyber fraud cases, law-and-order developments, protests, disasters and public institutions. Her reporting combines breaking news with in-depth, long form, human interest stories that examine the human impact of public policy, policing and the criminal justice system. In addition to reporting for the newspaper, she contributes to the Hindustan Times website and app, and plays an active role in coordinating on-ground coverage of major developments and breaking news across Delhi. Before joining Hindustan Times, Jignasa worked at The Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi, where she spent five years covering crime, Delhi airport, courts and health. She began her journalism career as an intern at an AI magazine in Bengaluru while pursuing her postgraduate diploma in multimedia journalism at the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media.Read More