Were firearms used during the July 20 CJP protest? What we know so far | Today’s news
Were firearms used in Cockroach Janata Party’s “Sansad Chalo” protest march on July 20? While police deny firing machine guns at peaceful protesters, photos, videos and accounts of those suffering tell a different story.
A pellet gun is a type of air gun or specialized shotgun used for sport, pest control, or crowd control. Fires small metal or lead projectiles using compressed air, gas, or a spring, rather than gunpowder.
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They were last used by central forces during the 2024 Haryana farmers’ protest, the 2023 Manipur student protests and the 2016 Kashmir riots.
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Protesters claim to have sustained bullet injuries during the CJP protest, with numerous reports and reports suggesting that security personnel may have used firearms, despite police denials.
The protest turned violent when protesters attempted to march towards Parliament, prompting police to respond with force, including lathi-charges and tear gas, escalating tensions.
The Delhi Police dismissed the allegations of firearms use as false and misleading, saying they did not possess such weapons and warned the public against sharing unverified information.
Evidence includes photographs and videos showing individuals with pellet injuries, medical reports confirming such injuries, and statements from hospital officials treating injured protesters.
Due to conflicting accounts and reports of injuries, there are calls for an investigation into police conduct during the protest to determine the full extent of the force used.
What happened during the CJP protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan? Here’s what we know so far:
What do the protesters say?
Soon after the July 20 march turned violent, social media flooded with videos and photos showing protesters with pellet injuries. Several reports in The Hindu, Outlook and Indian Express shared the ordeal of protesters who said they were injured as a result of bullet gun shots fired by personnel during the protest.
The latest Indian Express report quoted a senior AIIMS official as confirming that 19-year-old Sahil Lochab, a student at Delhi University’s School of Open Learning, had “pellet injuries” on the right side of his body. Now he is at risk of losing his sight.
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Locha’s right eye, with shrapnel still lodged inside, underwent surgery on Tuesday. Doctors reportedly told his family that there was only a “1% chance” that sight would return to his right eye.
“Doctors say I have a one per cent chance of getting my sight back,” Lochab said, adding, “Without sight, I have no real chance of any government exam now. None of the CJP members have come to meet me. No one from the government has come. All I want from the government now is a job. I want a secure future.”
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This is just one of many incidents that suggest the potential use of a pellet gun during the protest.
Earlier, The Hindu reported that Shaikh Irshad Mansoori (25) sustained pellet injuries. this appears to be the first known instance of security forces using firearms on civilians in Delhi.
A friend of protester Shaikh Irshad Mansoori told The Hindu that Mansoori was hit near Palika Bazaar in Connaught Place by a jawan in Rapid Action Force (RAF) uniform.
Quoting a source at Lady Hardinge Medical College, where the victim is being treated, the report said that at least one of the 80 protesters injured during the CJP march sustained gunshot wounds.
Speaking to The Indian Express from Lady Hardinge Hospital’s ENT department, Shaikh, an MBA graduate working in Gurgaon, said he was hit by “multiple bullets” fired by an “RAF man”.
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According to the report, shotguns and stun batons were part of the armament of the RAF, an anti-riot unit under the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which was deployed alongside the Delhi Police on July 20 in and around Jantar Mantar.
An Outlook journalist also claimed to have been hit by what he believed to be a pellet-launching weapon while covering the ‘Sansad Chalo’ protest in Delhi. His medical records documented pellet injuries.
CJP spokesperson Saurav Das also had shared a video on X showing a protester with a pellet-like injury. “ALARMING GOONDAISM by Delhi Police! They used firearms against peaceful protestors!”, he wrote on X.
The Delhi Police is probing the matter into the claims
Rejection of these messages, Delhi Police posted on X saying: “Claims that the Delhi Police used firearms against peaceful protesters yesterday are completely false and misleading.”
“The Delhi Police neither have firearms nor are they using them in the ongoing protests. The public is requested not to share or spread any unverified or misleading information,” X’s post added.
The New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police also advised the public not to share or spread unverified information.
This report by the Delhi Police could be seen in the comments section of many X posts that mentioned the use of firearms during the protest.
Meanwhile, an official told The Hindu on Friday that the CRPF was “verifying media reports” about the use of firearms by the Rapid Action Force (RAF) against unarmed protesters during the July 20 march to Parliament in Delhi.
BJP leader dodges question on use of firearms
BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia avoided the question of whether firearms were used against protesters during the ‘Sansad Chalo’ protest. Speaking to Sky News, he said any condescension by any person in uniform would also be investigated. “The rule of law must prevail,” he said, adding that the Indian government is “very hopeful” that there will be no further leaks of the papers.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) held a ‘Sansad Chalo’ protest march on July 20, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET exam paper leaks. The protest turned violent as crowds swelled and police lathi-charged and teargassed protesters as they tried to march towards Parliament, on Day 1 of the monsoon session.
The ensuing clashes left several police officers and protesters injured.
