Ten persons were injured by pellets during a youth protest march to Parliament on July 20 in Delhi, showed a Right to Information response received by Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale.

In a social media post on Monday, Gokhale shared a response received from the Lady Hardinge Medical College, which said that nine persons with “pellet/projectile” injuries were brought to the facility after the march.

The Safdarjung Hospital stated that it received one case of pellet injury on July 20.

A day after the march, the Delhi Police had denied firing pellet guns at those protesting against the alleged mismanagement of competitive exams.

However, citing a general diary entry made by the Rapid Action Force, a unit of the Central Reserve Police Force, The Hindu reported on July 28 that pellet guns were fired at protesters on the orders of a Delhi Police officer.

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

Two persons who were injured by pellets – Prashant Kumar Singh and Sheikh Irshad Mansoor – have since moved the Supreme Court seeking a ban on the use of pellet guns to disperse crowds during protests.

On Monday, Gokhale said that he had yet to receive a response from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi.

“What sort of a joke of a democracy is it where the police use pellet guns, lie about it, and then refuse to disclose the number of victims when confronted,” the TMC leader wrote on social media.

He asked why the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government had not released a confirmed number of persons who were injured by pellet guns on July 20.

“[Union Home Minister] Amit Shah has been using the police and central agencies as his personal mafia,” added Gokhale. “And now he is hiding from Parliament.”

The police in the national capital and the central armed police forces report to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Opposition parties have been demanding that Shah make a statement in Parliament about the police using excessive force against youth protesters.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Monday that Shah was ready to speak about the protests against the alleged mismanagement of competitive exams and the police action, if the Opposition does not disrupt proceedings in the House.

Protest against exam irregularities

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 protesters’ march to Parliament was met with a crackdown by the police. Dozens were injured as the police used lathis, fired tear gas shells and pellet guns against the demonstrators. The police action turbocharged the agitation, which spread to other parts of the country. Pradhan resigned as the education minister on July 25.

Written by Sneha. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

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

We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in.