Pellet injuries reported after Indian forces’ crackdown on Delhi student protest
New Delhi : Reports of pellet gun use by Indian forces during the Delhi Police crackdown on the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest have intensified after a journalist and several protesters reported sustaining pellet-like injuries during Monday’s clashes near Jantar Mantar.
According to Kashmir Media Service, an Outlook India reporter said that he was struck by pellets while covering the protest after an Indian forces man appeared to aim a weapon in his direction amid tear gas shelling and clashes. He was quoted as saying that he ran for cover but was struck on his backpack and arm. Medical records reportedly documented multiple puncture wounds, while photographs of his injuries were said to be consistent with pellet wounds.
The use of pellet gun gained further weight after 25-year-old protester Shaikh Irshad Mansoori underwent surgery at Lady Hardinge Medical College, where doctors reportedly removed several pellets from his face. Another pellet lodged near a major blood vessel in his neck could not be removed. Another injured protester with a suspected pellet injury was shifted to AIIMS for treatment.
The issue also reached the Indian Supreme Court after lawyers sought an urgent hearing into the police action, but the court declined to entertain the plea.
The July 20 “Sansad Chalo” march, organized by the student-led CJP over irregularities in the NEET examination, ended in violent clashes between protesters and Indian forces, leaving scores of protesters injured. The reported use of pellet-like ammunition has intensified demands from rights groups and opposition leaders for an independent judicial inquiry into the police crackdown.
The pellets guns were last known to have been used by Indian forces during the 2024 farmers’ protest at Khanauri and Shambhu border along the Punjab-Haryana boundary, while in 2023, the guns were used against protesters in strife-torn Manipur. Both incidents triggered widespread criticism despite denials by the authorities.
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), pellet guns have been extensively used by Indian forces against civilian protesters, particularly during the 2016 popular uprising, leaving hundreds of Kashmiris partially or completely blind and drawing strong condemnation from international human rights organizations.
