New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi staged a dharna outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police at the Parliament Street Police Station on Friday, protesting the Delhi Police’s refusal to register a First Information Report for a student allegedly injured by pellets during a protest on July 20. Gandhi accompanied the student, Sahil Lochab, and his mother to the station to demand formal police action and accountability over the incident.
The demonstration reignited political friction between the Congress party and the Union government over the force used against protesting students during the July demonstration. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing the administration of evading responsibility regarding who authorized the deployment of tear gas, baton charges, and pellets. Kharge alleged that several students sustained injuries, women protesters faced mistreatment, and Lochab had been denied both a basic acknowledgement of his complaint and an official medical legal report from AIIMS.
According to the Congress party, Lochab and his legal counsel initially submitted a formal written complaint to the Delhi Police on August 14 and followed up with multiple inquiries on August 17, but authorities failed to assign an investigating officer or register an FIR for what the party characterized as a cognizable offence. While senior police leadership has not officially confirmed the deployment of pellet guns against protesters, a previously reported daily diary entry from the Parliament Street Police Station indicated that Rapid Action Force personnel utilized anti-riot weapons and plastic pellets during the crowd control operation.
