The FIR was filed after Rahul Gandhi joined the student protester and staged a protest outside the Parliament Street Police Station for more than six hours.
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.
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.
What Sahil said in his FIR
“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.
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 said complaints were rejected earlier
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.
“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.
Rahul Gandhi stages protest outside police station
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.
