CJP Protest: Pellet Wounds Hit Protester, Police Deny Use

Shaikh Irshad Mansuri, 25, was among hundreds of protesters injured during the Cockroach Janta Party’s march to Parliament on 20 July. He is now recovering at Lady Hardinge Hospital in Delhi after surgery. Multiple pellets remain lodged near his left eye, in his neck, and in his facial cavity.

Irshad said an RAF officer shot him in the face at close range. “An RAF man came in front of me. He was holding a gun. He showed it to me. I thought he was only threatening me, that he wouldn’t actually shoot. Then the blue-uniformed man pointed the gun at my face and shot me… Everything went silent,” he told Indian Express from the hospital.

Delhi Police have denied using pellet guns during the protest. The CRPF has not commented. Hospital officials said the term “pellet injuries” describes the nature of the wound and can be caused by small objects thrown at speed. Whether a pellet gun was involved requires forensic determination, an official said.

The incident adds to a long history of pellet gun use by central forces in India. They were first deployed extensively during the 2010 unrest in Jammu and Kashmir and have since been used in the 2016 Kashmir protests, the 2023 Manipur violence, the 2024 farmer protests, and the 2025 Leh agitation. There is no official record of pellet gun use in Delhi before this event.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda visited Irshad on 21 July, a day after the protest. Irshad described the moment of injury: “First I smelled something rancid. Then something stung my right eyebrow. Pellets pierced through my right eye and down on my cheek and nose. Then, the pellets hit my chin, and scattered on my neck, my shoulder, my chest. I could taste blood on my tongue. I put my fingers on my face and blood was gushing out from everywhere.”