Delhi Pellet Incident FIR Filed Only After Amit Shah’s OK: Rahul Gandhi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with pellet injury victim Sahil Lochav on Friday. (Image INC India)
By AMIT KUMAR
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed that the police registered an FIR in the Sahil Lochab pellet case only after Amit Shah’s ok.
New Delhi, August 21, 2026 — Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that “final permission to register the FIR (in the pellet injury incident in July 20 protests) had to be given by the Home Secretary and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.”
“The final permission, the final OK, had to be given by the Home Secretary and Amit Shah ji, and only then did they file the FIR,” Gandhi said.
The Congress leader was speaking to reporters after the Delhi Police finally registered an FIR in the pellet injury incident. Gandhi staged a sit-in at a police station in the national capital to demand registration of an FIR in the incident.
He added that “the development showed who was allegedly stopping the registration of the FIR.” Gandhi also said that the police personnel themselves wanted to register the FIR but that there was a “brake on justice” from above.
Congress leaders accompanying Gandhi reiterated that registration of an FIR was necessary for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Lochab’s injuries, identification of those responsible for firing the pellets and determination of whether the use of force was lawful.
The incident has brought renewed political focus on the July 20 protest, the alleged use of pellet guns against students and the demand for accountability over Lochab’s injuries.
Gandhi on Friday staged a protest outside the Parliament Street police station here, demanding registration of an FIR into the pellet-gun injuries suffered by student Sahil Lochab during a protest in Delhi on July 20.
“Gandhi reached the police station along with Lochab, his mother and their lawyer after the Delhi Police refused to register an FIR in the case. When the police still declined to register the FIR, Gandhi sat on a dharna outside the police station with the victim and his family,” said the Congress in a media statement.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and a large number of Congress leaders and workers were also present at the protest.
Gandhi said that students participating in a peaceful demonstration on July 20 were attacked with pellet guns and Lochab suffered serious injuries in the incident. Displaying the student’s medical reports, he said more than 200 pellets had entered Lochab’s body, including three that struck his eye, putting the vision in one eye at risk.
He further said that pellets were lodged near the student’s heart and could not be removed by doctors. Gandhi also displayed a pellet recovered from the student’s body during medical treatment.
Gandhi said that the FIR was the first step towards establishing accountability.
Gandhi described the use of force against peaceful protesters as “a serious crime” rather than lawful police action. He questioned why neither the Union Home Minister nor the prime minister had offered an explanation or apology to the students who were injured during the protest.
He also directly questioned Shah over the denial of constitutional rights, asking why the Home Minister was “so afraid of justice”.
Lochab, who was present at the protest, said he was hit by pellet gunfire near Connaught Place on July 20.
Following the incident, he was admitted to Lady Hardinge Hospital and subsequently referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where he underwent two surgeries.
The student said that despite undergoing surgery, his vision remained impaired. According to Lochab, he submitted a seven-page complaint to the police on Aug. 14 seeking registration of an FIR, but no FIR had been registered as of Friday.
“Look, it has been a month. There are pellets in his body, three pellets in his eye. He cannot see from that eye. There are three-four pellets near his heart,” said Gandhi.
Gandhi said that he and the victim’s family had arrived at the police station at around 11 a.m. and remained there for nearly eight hours before the FIR was filed.
“We have not done anything wrong here. We have only sought justice for a citizen of India, for his mother and his father, and it took eight hours,” Gandhi said.
He questioned what happens to victims seeking justice at police stations in villages and smaller cities if justice could not be obtained at a police station in the heart of New Delhi.
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