Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has claimed that no person protesting against the alleged irregularities in competitive exams was seriously injured in the police action in Delhi on July 20, reported ANI.

In an interview aired on Tuesday, Rijiju claimed: “Not a single person was harmed, not a single person suffered a broken bone. Not even one protester is in the hospital with a serious injury.”

His claims came despite a Right to Information response stating that 10 persons were injured by pellets during the July 20 protest march to Parliament.

A 19-year-old protester sustained multiple wounds and also lost vision in one eye after being hit by what doctors are reported to have confirmed were pellets.

Scroll found medical records from Safdarjung Hospital that showed that a journalist covering the protest had 26 small, round wounds that doctors described as “consistent with pellets striking” the right side of his body. The journalist told Scroll that he saw security personnel deploying pellet guns and was hit while trying to move away.

This was the first time that pellet guns had been used in Delhi against unarmed protesters.

Rijiju claimed in the interview to ANI that several criminals had infiltrated the protest “under the guise of students”. He also claimed that Opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Aam Aadmi Party, had tried to incite the protesters.

“Yet, not a single casualty occurred,” said the minister.

He added that the Delhi Police and the administration should be praised for “handling such a massive protest without allowing even a single serious injury”.

“During the protests, the Delhi administration did not use even one lathi,” claimed Rijiju. “It was only when they forcibly marched towards Parliament that they were stopped.”

However, several videos shared online after the July 20 crackdown on protesters had shown security personnel and persons wearing plain clothes assaulting students with lathis. Videos had also emerged of police officers slapping women, as well as hitting them on their private parts.

Dozens were injured in the police action.

The protests against alleged mismanagement of several competitive examinations had begun on June 6, when the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign staged a demonstration at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to demand the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union education minister at the time.

On July 20, thousands joined the protest. This came two days after the police forcibly took activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike for three weeks, to hospital.

The police action during the Parliament march turbocharged the agitation, which spread to other parts of the country. Pradhan resigned as the education minister on July 25.

Edited by Sara Varghese.

Also read: Delhi hospital reports show pellet wounds on journalist covering students’ protests

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